Tom McMillin: Michigan Legislature Working To Make Opting Out Of Vaccinations More Difficult

To my friends out there (and I know many of you may roll your eyes at this) who want to make sure there is the ability to allow parents to opt their children out from a government required immunization or two or more if they feel the risks outweigh the benefits, the change being contemplated at tomorrow's Joint Committee on Administrative Rules (JCAR)

deals with requiring "informed" consent to opt out.

The administration tells me that if the Rule is approved tomorrow, that they plan to have videos online explaining the government's view of the risks to opting out, that a person would be required to watch (not sure how they'll know) before being able to opt out.

However the rule is broad enough that it could also allow them to require anyone who wants to opt their child out of a shot or two or more, to physically go to one of the 45 MI Health Department offices and sit down with a doctor and listen to the doctor tell them of the risks the government believes are present, before being allowed to opt out.

Many argue that people should be very well informed of what the government feels are the risks of opting out. Some think that with this Rule, the government, either the current or future administrations who want to "clamp down" on the parental opt out, could make the process very onerous and difficult.

State Representative District 45, Tom McMillin was elected to his third term in the Michigan House of Representatives in November 2012, representing residents of Rochester, Rochester Hills, and part of Oakland Township. McMillin serves as chair of Joint Committee on Administrative Rules and chairs the House Oversight Committee. He also serves on the House Education, Financial Liability Reform and Regulatory Reform committees.