Meeting Public Comments

Subcommittee meeting and times are as follows:

Attendance at subcommittee meetings by lobbyists and the public is via zoom or in-person. See agenda for zoom details. Only authenticated users are permitted access.

SF 6

A bill for an act relating to the provision of information relating to immunization exemptions.

Agenda

Subcommittee members: Guth-CH, Donahue, Pike

Date: Wednesday, January 22, 2025

Time: 12:30 PM - 1:00 PM

Location: Senate Lounge

Comments Submitted:

The purpose of comments is to provide information to members of the subcommittee.

Names and comments are public records. Remaining information is considered a confidential record.

01-21-2025

Kerry Crouch

DECEPTIONS NEED TO STOP!!! Schools are funded by our hard earned money, aka TAXES. This makes school a government agency. So we are mandated to pay for our schools and then we are lied to and told vaccines are mandatory. I dont mind paying for schools because it helps better education. Our area does well with this. However, this illegal vaccine issue of hiding the truth creates unwarranted government control on two sides. Vaccines are also paid for by tax moneys because the Dept of Public Health provides the vaccines, paid by taxes. People are injected by Public Health nurses whose wages are paid by our taxes and MANY people are not charged for the vaccine or the service. Those who have insurance, the vaccine and service is charged to insurances and recipients may still have to pay cofees and/or deductibles. Please move forward with SF 6!!!

01-21-2025

Jennifer Leonhard

I support SF6 because transparency of the law is very important. So many schools currently use the slogan "no shots, no school " which is not true and misleading. It leads to medical coercion and does not consider the individual health history or provide informed choice for parents. Please support HF34 which will cut down on paperwork for school nurses and school administration and allow parents the truth in the law.

01-21-2025

Bethany Steichen

I support SF 6! Parents ultimately have the last say on the decision to vaccinate or not. All of them, a handful, or none, it doesn't matter. The fact that no one besides parents of vaccine injured children are telling parents that they have AN OPTION is ridiculous. Let the parents know and make the decision that is best for them!

01-21-2025

Tim Stumo

Good evening, Legislators,Thank you for your time and service in the Iowa Legislature. I am registering in favor of this bill because we, as Americans, have the right to informed consent. Whether we agree with exemptions or not, every person is entitled to be informed about them, and Iowa is obligated to ensure our institutions are informing Iowans. According to The National Library of Medicine: "Informed consent is a cornerstone of medicine, ensuring ethical treatment decisions and patientcentered care. Patients have the right to make informed and voluntary treatment decisions. Informed consent is more than merely a signature on a document; it is a communication process between the clinician and the patient. This process ensures that the patient is fully informed about the nature of the procedure or intervention, the potential risks and benefits, and the alternative treatments available. The patient can refuse or withdraw consent at any time during treatment."

01-21-2025

Rachel Wallace

Please advance bill SF 6. Parents must know that they have the right to use an exemption. Many parents believe that if they want to have their children in public schools, they must give their children the full schedule of vaccines. They cannot choose to deny one vaccine from that schedule without an exemption. And most don't know that an exemption is even a choice. It is a form of bullying/coercion that is taking place. The vaccination schedule has tripled in the last 40 years. Parents must be given the option to choose which, if any, vaccines they want their children to have. We want what's best for our kids. We need to be provided the right to make medical decisions for our children that are not based in fear, but instead based on what is best for them.

01-22-2025

Liz Leonhard

My children are in a homeschool assistance program and thankfully the school gave us no issues when we filled our exemptions. when the school discloses the whole law properly there is less hassle for the school nurses, administrators, and parents. Many of our surrounding districts do not function this way and have frequently used catchy slogans like, no shots no school, which simply aren't true to try to coerce parents into medical/religious choices that may not be right for their family.Parents like myself have worked hard to build relationships for years to make sure individual school systems are being transparent but we need uniformity of law disclosure across the state. Parents have the right to know that exemptions exist when filing all the proper paperwork with their daycares and school. This bill can provide the transparency and clarity that will make things easier and eliminate the possibility of medical coercion. Please support this bill.

01-22-2025

Courtney Collier

I support HF34. When my childrens school or daycare communicates with me regarding an Iowa law, including the law on immunizations, I expect them to communicate the entire provision of the law. This would mean they include the information about my right to an immunization exemption and the necessary forms. Currently and for the last 8 years, my childrens school has not communicated the entire law but instead has misinformed and us and given the appearance of coercion to comply with immunizations or be refused enrollment. HF34 will clarify that schools and daycares must communicate all of the options in the immunization law clearly to parents so that they can make an informed decision for their family.