Connecticut Democrats ban religious exemptions for school vaccine mandates
Connecticut’s new law explicitly states that religious freedom protections do not apply to vaccine requirements for children in childcare, public and private schools, and higher education.
HARTFORD, Connecticut (LifeSiteNews) — Democratic lawmakers in Connecticut passed a bill banning religious exemptions for vaccines deemed mandatory by the state.
House Bill 5044, “An Act Establishing Connecticut Vaccine Standards,” passed both chambers of the state legislature and was quickly signed into law by Democratic Governor Ned Lamont.
The measure is a response to an ongoing lawsuit by families seeking to restore religious exemptions under Connecticut’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA).
At the insistence of State Attorney General William Tong, the new law explicitly states that the RFRA does not apply to immunization requirements for children in childcare, public and private schools, and higher education.
“This will end vaccine exemptions and crush any family lawsuits,” declared conservative social media account Wall Street Apes. “Democrats work for big Pharma.”
“This isn’t about vaccines. It’s about freedom,” said Connecticut Republican state Senator Rob Sampson.
“Free people don’t ask permission to make decisions about their own bodies or their children,” said Sampson.
“My body, my choice’ — unless it’s you/your family? CT just passed a bill, handing one unelected commissioner power to mandate vaccines for kids AND adults while stripping religious exemptions from school requirements,” said congressional candidate Daniel Miressi.
“A direct threat to a fundamental right protected by the 14th Amendment: parents’ RIGHT to steward education, medical care, and raise their children. Congress should pass legislation shielding parental rights from this kind (blue) state overreach,” insisted Miressi.
Gov. Lamont claimed that moves by the Trump administration “threaten standards supported by the medical community for generations.”
“Last year, the Trump administration, under the leadership of appointee Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., removed all 17 sitting members of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) and replaced them with new appointees – at least several of whom have been directly tied to the vaccine skepticism movement,” Lamont’s office noted in a statement issued on Monday. “Since then, the committee has made attempts to overhaul long-held U.S. vaccine policies by removing vaccines from standard of care schedules,” it added.
“The legislation signed today by Governor Lamont most notably removes the requirement under existing Connecticut statutes that the state’s vaccine standards be linked to those set by this federal committee, and establishes the methods needed for the state to preserve the current vaccine standards,” the statement explains.
Last year, a national coalition of religious and medical liberty organizations urged President Donald Trump to adopt a plan to restore First Amendment rights in four states – New York, California, Maine, and Connecticut – where unconstitutional vaccine mandates continue to deny children of religious families access to education and health care.
The coalition made the request after addressing a letter to members of President Trump’s newly established Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) that has a mandate from the White House to investigate emerging threats to religious liberty and recommend policies to safeguard fundamental religious rights of all Americans.
“Across faiths — Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and others — believers object to vaccines, particularly those derived from aborted fetal cell lines, viewing their bodies as sacred temples of God,” the letter explained. “These sincerely held beliefs, protected by the First Amendment, are unjustly disregarded by New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine, necessitating immediate action to restore religious liberty.”
The past five years have seen a renewed critical look by many at conventional vaccines and the laws governing them, provoked by the federal government’s lack of transparency regarding the dangers and ineffectiveness of the COVID-19 shots that were developed and reviewed in a fraction of the time that vaccines usually take.
“Attempts to mandate the shots also reignited awareness of the use of cells derived from aborted babies in vaccine development and testing, raising moral objections,” noted LifeSiteNews’ Calvin Freiburger in August.
In many states and under the Biden administration, neither health or moral concerns were enough to stop authorities from attempting to mandate the shots, further intensifying skepticism toward vaccines.
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