TRENTON, N.J. – Two New Jersey Republican state senators have proposed legislation strongly favored by anti-vaxxer advocates who believe vaccines are dangerous.
Senators Mike Testa Jr. (R-1) and Joe Pennacchio (R-26) say their legislation empowers parents.
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“We’re making sure that parents have ample opportunity to understand and ask questions about the purpose and risk profiles of the vaccinations that their children’s doctors are proposing,” said Testa referring to S-1734, a proposal which would make doctors provide, among other onerous obligations, a full list of vaccine ingredients 48-hours before administering a vaccine. “Should parents decline a particular vaccine, doctors would be required to provide a clear explanation of the potential medical risks and impacts on schooling. Ultimately, we want to empower parents with information to make the vaccination choices that are right for their families.”
The next two measures push for more dramatic action.
S-1791 would institute “strict civil liability” for vaccine-related injuries for the state of New Jersey if the vaccine in question is mandated by a state law or subsidiary including public schools. Applying strict liability – which alleviates the need for plaintiffs to prove actual negligence or an intent to cause harm before a jury – will make it much easier for plaintiffs to recover in a court of law. It could also cost taxpayers as lawsuits pile up. The resulting lawsuit judgments could also discourage the advancement of new vaccines for other diseases.
The senators’ accompanying resolution calls on the federal government to repeal the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of 1986 which created the so-called “vaccine court,” a diversionary route for alleged vaccine injury plaintiffs to press their claims outside of the tradition tort system.
Notwithstanding a new tide of GOP opposition to the court’s existence, the federal vaccine court was famously defended by none other than the late conservative U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia in his 2011 Bruesewitz v. Wyeth majority opinion.
“Vaccine manufacturers fund from their sales an informal, efficient compensation program for vaccine injuries; in exchange they avoid costly tort litigation and the occasional disproportionate jury verdict. Congress enacted this deal to coax manufacturers back into the vaccine market,” Scalia wrote.
The NJGOP caucus has found common cause with anti-vaxxer activists in recent months despite a complete lack of medical science supporting the proposition that vaccines are remotely as dangerous as the deadly diseases they aim to stamp out.
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