The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors took on legislative issues of a deeply personal nature, including end-of-life care and vaccination regulations, during its March 24 meeting.
Supervisors voted to support SB 128, the End of Life Option Act, with 4th District Supervisor Peter Adam in opposition and 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino abstaining. The board couldn’t come to a consensus, however, on SB 277, which would take a personal belief option off the table as a vaccination exemption choice for parents.
The legislation essentially presents 10 vaccines parents wouldn’t be able to opt their children out of receiving, and leaves room for more if California’s Public Health Department decides to add to the list of required vaccines. SB 277 would also ban children who don’t get the required vaccines from attending public or private school or daycare, unless there’s a medical reason for the decision.
Mothers lined up to speak to supervisors during the public comment portion of the meeting. Some said they vaccinated their children and some said they didn’t, but all of them said vaccination isn’t something parents should be forced to do to their children. All of the speakers pointed to vaccines as not being 100 percent safe, using the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program as an example.
Through that program, the U.S. Health and Services Administration has paid out more than $2.8 billion in almost 4,000 cases of injury or death linked to vaccines since 1988.
One mother called the legislation a “totalitarian approach to medical care.”
Tracy Roberts from Los Olivos said, “I believe that vaccinations have many health benefits,” but she added that removing her right to give informed consent to vaccinate her child raises a red flag.
Supervisor Adam, who said he believes wholeheartedly in the efficacy of vaccines, agreed with Roberts’ assessment of what people would lose should the legislation pass.
“At the end of the day, conscientious objections and informed consent are a human right,” Adam said during the meeting. “I’m really hesitant to tell someone they have to do something. That’s just Orwellian.”
Board Chair Janet Wolf and 1st District Supervisor Salud Carbajal said they fully supported the legislation.
“I lean heavily toward the expertise, science, and advocacy of our health professionals that this is the best way to protect the public health,” Carbajal said. “There’s no easy answers; that’s what makes our jobs difficult.”
This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 2, 2015.