(By Rabbi Yair Hoffman for 5TJT.com) Last week a measure was brought up in the New Jersey legislature to remove personal and religious exemptions regarding vaccination requirements. The measure was quashed, according to the New York Times, due to the efforts of various groups. One of those groups that advocated for the measure to be quashed was Agudath Israel of America. Sometimes, an issue arises where one must choose between two important values. Do we help promote the general welfare of the population? Or do we take steps to avoid any possible future curtailment of religious freedoms? This quandary is complicated, and recently came up in New Jersey where a law was proposed to remove the supposed “religious exemptions” to vaccination requirements. Vaccinations are important. Against the opinions of many laypeople, the overwhelming majority of doctors and public health experts have decried the proliferation of “vaccine denialism.” Removing the religious and personal exemptions to vaccination requirements may, in fact, save lives. One should also point out that the idea of there being a genuine religious exemption to vaccination in Judaism has been challenged by leading Gedolim. Rav Moshe Shternbuch shlita, the Gaavad of the Eida Chareidis expressed this opinion in a written Teshuvah. Indeed, last year, Agudath Israel of America, decried an anti-vaccination rally held amidst last year’s measles outbreak in their June 14, 2019 statement. It declared the statements at that rally as “senseless musings” and “inflammatory.” Agudath Israel, according to their statement, explained that they “proactively organized multiple, free vaccination clinics in Borough Park, Flatbush, and Williamsburg; placed full page educational advertisements in community magazines and newspapers; and partnered with the NYS and NYC Departments of Health to disseminate critical information to schools and parents describing best steps to prevent this disease.” Last year, New York State thankfully passed a measure that eliminated the supposed “religious exemption” to the vaccination requirement. Unfortunately, some people in our community considered this as a “loss” and reinvigorated their efforts to ensure that a similar measure did not pass in New Jersey. Their efforts were fruitful, as was seen last week. Those who backed the quashing of this legislation – do have a point. Firstly, one of the remarkable parts of this country is the fact that the people have First Amendment Rights – the freedom to hold an opinion or belief. Secondly, there is a chance, however remote it may be, that legislation endorsing the removal of religious exemptions to vaccinations – may result in future legislation that could affect Bris Milah or practices associated with Bris Milah. There are, however, four counterpoints to this position. THE FIRST COUNTERPOINT – SIX GROUPS ENDANGERED The first is that there are immunocompromised individuals whose lives are being endangered by those who are not vaccinating. The immunocompromised individuals that have been endangered by the quashing of this legislation include the following: · Adult cancer patients · Children who are undergoing chemotherapy · Infants · Those with other medical conditions that leave them immunocompromised · Those with vaccine allergies · Those people who do get vaccinated but do not develop an immunity for one reason or another. Numerous Gedolim and Rabbonim have made this point very clearly – including Rav Elyashiv zt”l. All of these people depend upon others being vaccinated to ensure that their […]
The post Op-Ed: Vaccination Laws vs. Religious Freedom appeared first on The Yeshiva World.