Pa. doctors could be punished for rejecting vaccine-skeptical parents under advancing House

Pa. doctors could be punished for rejecting vaccine-skeptical parents under advancing House legislation


Doctors could be punished for refusing to see children whose parents reject the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention vaccinations standards under a bill passed by a Republican-controlled Pennsylvania House panel Wednesday morning.

In a party line 15-10 vote, the House Health Committee approved the proposal, titled the “Immunization Freedom Act”, sponsored by Rep. David Zimmerman, R-Lancaster.

The bill would require doctors to continue to provide care to children as long as their parents consent to one vaccine a year. Such a rate would quickly fall behind CDC guidance, which suggests babies are inoculated against seven diseases, some requiring multiple booster shots, in their first 15 months alone.

Doctors who violate the law would be subject to “administrative penalties imposed before the health care practitioner’s Commonwealth licensing agency or board for unprofessional conduct,” according to the bill.

Read more: https://www.penncapital-star.com/health-care/pa-doctors-could-be-punished-for-rejecting-vaccine-skeptical-parents-under-advancing-legislation/