Parents Leaning on Religion to Dodge Vaccines for Children

Parents are turning to state laws allowing religious exemptions to keep their children from being vaccinated, the Associated Press reports. Such shots are often required for children to attend preschool; though sects such as the Christian Scientists have real religious objections to medicine, some parents distrustful of the science behind vaccines are using the laws to avoid inoculations.

One parent signed a letter falsely attesting that her religion forbade her from letting her son receive inoculations necessary to enter preschool, because she believes earlier vaccinations caused her son's autism. But public-health officials are crying foul: Says one, "You're not just making a choice for yourself, you're making a choice for the person sitting next to you." (More vaccination stories.)