By Steven Allen Adams for The Intelligencer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — On the eve of the vote in the West Virginia Senate scheduled today on whether to grant broad religious and philosophical exemptions for the state’s school-age mandatory immunization program, two Republican state senators from the same district — both Catholics — are on opposite sides of the issue.
The body will consider Senate Bill 460 today, relating to vaccine requirements. If a majority of the Senate votes in favor of the bill, it will go to the House of Delegates for consideration.
SB 460 would allow parents and guardians to object to the requirements of the state’s program for compulsory immunization of public and private school children by citing a religious or philosophical belief. The bill allows children to continue to participate in extracurricular activities and it allows for civil suits against schools that discriminate against these students.
