If Rep Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, gets his way, unvaccinated children may have only one educational option in Oregon, homeschooling.
Under the legislation Greenlick is preparing, school age children could still be medically exempted, but the non-medical exemption would be eliminated. The proposal comes amid a measles outbreak that started in Washington, and that has now moved to Oregon, also. There are currently 56 cases in the two states.
Greenlick says his goal is protect children that cannot be immunized for medical reasons. To stave off outbreaks, a minimum of 93 percent of children must be vaccinated, and one in five Oregon schools fail to meet that number. Approximately 15,000 Oregon children have non-medical vaccination exemptions.
Similar legislation met with fierce opposition in 2015. Greenlick hopes it will be different this time,
“People have a right to make bad decisions about the healthcare of their children, but that does not give them the right to send unprotected children into their school,” said Greenlick in an interview with The Oregonian.
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