A Stitch in Haste

Another quick example of how government creates an entirely false distinction between freedom of religion and freedom from religion:

In the absence of an emergency or epidemic of disease declared by the department of public health, no child whose parent or guardian states in writing that vaccination or immunization conflicts with his sincere religious beliefs shall be required to present said physician's certificate in order to be admitted to school.

So reads Massachusetts General Law 76-15. The state is unusual, perhaps unique, in granting only a religious exemption to compulsory childhood vaccination but not a conscience exemption.

"No, we don't do any test of religion," said Dr. Alfred DeMaria, chief medical officer for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. "That's not American, essentially, to do a test of people's religion."

But to do an atheist test? That's as American, and as ignorant, as a gay marriage ban.

Via Religion Clause.

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On a tangent:

Barry Taylor practices naturopathic medicine, and defends these parents' right to choose.

There is no right, not even by libertarian standards, to choose to baselessly endanger your children. A parent who has a bona fide rational basis for concluding that immunization may pose some (nebulous, yet apparently) unacceptable risk might be forgiven if he guesses wrong. But a parent who insists that "it's up to God whether my child contracts polio" must never be forgiven, even if the kid is lucky enough not to get it.

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Finally, I'm sure Tony at Rolling Doughnut could draw some analogies to the infant circumcision disgrace.