A group of San Diego parents has filed a federal lawsuit against California’s new law that eliminates nearly all exemptions to childhood vaccinations.
The suit was filed Friday, the day the law took effect. It asks the court to declare the law unconstitutional.
The lawsuit claims that eliminating the personal and religious exemptions to childhood vaccines violates parental rights. It also argues that the plaintiffs have legitimate concerns about the timing and safety of mandated vaccines.
Dr. Mark Sawyer, a specialist in pediatric infectious diseases at Rady Children’s Hospital, said there's nothing legitimate about the plaintiffs' concerns.
“The idea that all of the pediatricians of the United States are conspiring together to recommend something that’s unsafe for children is mind boggling to me. And naturally, that’s not the case," Sawyer said.
California lawmakers approved the measure last year, following a measles outbreak that began at Disneyland in December 2014 and amidst concerns about pockets of unvaccinated children in schools.
California is one of only three states that do not allow personal or religious exemptions to school immunization requirements.
