TAKE ACTION: Protect Religious Freedom and Access to Education in Massachusetts

For years, the Massachusetts legislature has tried to remove access to religious exemptions to vaccines statewide. Thanks to the dedication of advocates for religious freedom, these efforts have not been successful.

Lawmakers are once again trying to eliminate the freedom to decline vaccines based on religious beliefs with bill H.2554. We can’t let up now!

The implications of losing the religious vaccine exemption are far-reaching. If passed, H.2554 would:

• Permanently eliminate religious vaccine exemptions for K–12 students, prohibiting children from attending public, private, or charter schools if their families decline vaccines on religious grounds
• Effectively create an enrollment ban on families who do not vaccinate based on religious reasons, forcing many to homeschool even when needs of the individual children – such as IEP status – are impacted
• Require schools to report and publish detailed personal immunization and medical exemption data, potentially causing reputational harm and targeting of families who have chosen not to vaccinate their children
• Threaten students with disabilities or medical conditions through denial of education and services and potentially lead to forced medical interventions

These latest efforts by the Massachusetts legislature seem to be reaching a fever pitch, gaining more momentum than similar efforts in the past. Is the pressure mounting from the vaccine industry lobby as they see their empire being threatened like never before? The American Academy of Pediatrics is now pulling out all the stops by calling for the elimination of all nonmedical exemptions across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.

As their pressure builds, so should ours! We need to bring it like never before. We know you have it in you.

If the religious exemption is lost in Massachusetts, it can impact the entire country as the powers behind such efforts will be emboldened to attack state legislatures from coast to coast. Join us in resisting attempts to remove religious exemptions to vaccines. Just fill out the form below to urge all Massachusetts legislators to stand for religious freedom and oppose H.2554.

Please also take it a step further by calling the members of the Massachusetts House Committee on Steering, Policy, and Scheduling and your elected officials in both the state House and Senate and tell them to stop this bill. You can find your legislators on the state’s website.

Speaker of the House, Ronald Mariano: 617-722-2500
House Committee on Steering, Policy and Scheduling General Number: 617-722-2470
Chair: Rep Kevin G. Honan: 617-722-2470
Vice Chair: Rep Christopher Hendricks: 617-722-2080
Rep Dennis C. Gallagher: 617-722-2014
Rep Christopher J. Worrell: 617-722-2396
Rep Aaron L. Saunders: 617-722-2320
Rep Michelle M. DuBois: 617-722-2017
Rep Brian M. Ashe: 617-722-2304
Rep David Henry Argosky LeBoeuf: 617-722-2305
Rep Sean Reid: 617-722-2460
Ranking Minority Rep Steven S. Howitt: 617-722-2305
Rep Hannah Kane: 617-722-2810