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Nanny Government
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3/23/05
Nanny government is alive and well in Colorado.
Following many hours of passionate debate this past Wednesday, SenateBill 87 was passed by the House committee on Health and Human Services. This bill, along with another bill (HB-1161) that will increase the funding for this program, will make the Immunization Tracking System in Colorado more comprehensive and more intrusive than ever before.
Despite extensive and persuasivetestimony from several parents and one physician, the committee rejected amendments that might have made Senate Bill 87 agood bill for the families of Colorado. Their message was a well documeted concern that we could already be over-vaccinating ourchildren. They spoke of the risks of mercury exposure and startlingnew problems we are now seeing in the health of children today,including a threefold increase of asthma over the last few decades.
The majority of the committee endorsed Senate Bill 87's plan toaggressively monitor the vaccinations for every child in Coloradothrough the Immunization Tracking System.
The Immunization Tracking System was established several years ago. Incurrent law, personal identifying information is kept strictlyconfidential and most parents and children are not to be personallyidentified or contacted unless there is the rare occurrence of anepidemic. Parents also supposedly have the opportunity to "opt out"their children from the system.
Senate Bill 87 reverses the law so that it would require parents to becontacted whenever their child is due (or overdue) for any mandatedvaccination.
In the committee testimony it also came out that despite the "opt out"provision in the current law, the way the database has beenconstructed, it tracks everyone who has "opted out" of the system. Acareful reading of the law also reveals that the database system isintended to include every child and is to be compiled from all birthcertificates in the state. The Immunization Tracking System, when fullyimplemented, will be a permanent tracking system of all children andtheir parents in Colorado.
Amendments to allow parents to choose to be out of the database system,or to make it an "opt in" system, were defeated. The most importantamendment, allowing parents to have all information about themselvesand their children to be completely removed from the database, waskilled on a party line vote with all Democrats voting against thisclear endorsement of parental authority.
Immunizations do play an important role in public health, but there arealso valid concerns with the privacy of personal information and thesafety of the wholesale use of vaccinations which must be balanced withthis general public health issue. Parents should be the final judge onwhat vaccinations their children should have. Parents should also havethe right to keep their names and their children's names out of thisintrusive database. Even though Colorado law still recognizes theparent's right to decide if their children will get any vaccinations,it troubles many that those parents who choose to forgo some or allimmunizations are still listed in the Immunization Tracking System
database. It is even more troubling that they are then placed on thelist of those who have refused to comply with the otherwise mandatoryimmunization system.
The only chance to correct this bill will be on the House floor when itis heard in second reading. This can happen anytime between now and theend of the session in May. Your calls and letters to the members of theColorado House may be needed to convince the legislature that theyshould honor parents rights in Senate Bill 87.
Nanny government is alive and well in Colorado.
Following many hours of passionate debate this past Wednesday, SenateBill 87 was passed by the House committee on Health and Human Services. This bill, along with another bill (HB-1161) that will increase the funding for this program, will make the Immunization Tracking System in Colorado more comprehensive and more intrusive than ever before.
Despite extensive and persuasivetestimony from several parents and one physician, the committee rejected amendments that might have made Senate Bill 87 agood bill for the families of Colorado. Their message was a well documeted concern that we could already be over-vaccinating ourchildren. They spoke of the risks of mercury exposure and startlingnew problems we are now seeing in the health of children today,including a threefold increase of asthma over the last few decades.
The majority of the committee endorsed Senate Bill 87's plan toaggressively monitor the vaccinations for every child in Coloradothrough the Immunization Tracking System.
The Immunization Tracking System was established several years ago. Incurrent law, personal identifying information is kept strictlyconfidential and most parents and children are not to be personallyidentified or contacted unless there is the rare occurrence of anepidemic. Parents also supposedly have the opportunity to "opt out"their children from the system.
Senate Bill 87 reverses the law so that it would require parents to becontacted whenever their child is due (or overdue) for any mandatedvaccination.
In the committee testimony it also came out that despite the "opt out"provision in the current law, the way the database has beenconstructed, it tracks everyone who has "opted out" of the system. Acareful reading of the law also reveals that the database system isintended to include every child and is to be compiled from all birthcertificates in the state. The Immunization Tracking System, when fullyimplemented, will be a permanent tracking system of all children andtheir parents in Colorado.
Amendments to allow parents to choose to be out of the database system,or to make it an "opt in" system, were defeated. The most importantamendment, allowing parents to have all information about themselvesand their children to be completely removed from the database, waskilled on a party line vote with all Democrats voting against thisclear endorsement of parental authority.
Immunizations do play an important role in public health, but there arealso valid concerns with the privacy of personal information and thesafety of the wholesale use of vaccinations which must be balanced withthis general public health issue. Parents should be the final judge onwhat vaccinations their children should have. Parents should also havethe right to keep their names and their children's names out of thisintrusive database. Even though Colorado law still recognizes theparent's right to decide if their children will get any vaccinations,it troubles many that those parents who choose to forgo some or allimmunizations are still listed in the Immunization Tracking System
database. It is even more troubling that they are then placed on thelist of those who have refused to comply with the otherwise mandatoryimmunization system.
The only chance to correct this bill will be on the House floor when itis heard in second reading. This can happen anytime between now and theend of the session in May. Your calls and letters to the members of theColorado House may be needed to convince the legislature that theyshould honor parents rights in Senate Bill 87.
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