Rep. Vernon Borgeson is discovering why he was warned against trying to remove an exemption for parents to keep their children from being immunized.
"I got 10 phone calls yesterday," the Clearfield Democrat said Wednesday. "That was the most so far, so it's starting to heat up."The current law gives parents the option of having their children immunized against diphtheria, measles, mumps, pertussis, polio, tetanus, and rubella before they enter public schools.
Borgeson's amendment would make the shots required in most cases.
"I'm doing it because I'm from Davis County and we had an outbreak of measles in Davis County last spring," he said. "I believe it was a result of these people who have a personal exemption."
But Borgeson said many Utahns believe the bill interferes with their freedom.
"Well, I told one man the Legislature has done that before," the lawmaker said. "We did it with abortion last year. But he told me, `That's different.' "
While opponents have gone so far as to call him a Nazi, he said he has support from others, including Sen. Winn Richards, D-Ogden, a physician who will introduce the bill in the Senate as well.
Also supporting the bill is Gov. Norm Bangerter, who is pushing a health department program called "Every Child by Two." Its goal is to immunize all Utah children before they are 2 years old.
The governor and first lady appeared at a news conference Wednesday alongside health department director Dr. Suzanne Dandoy to promote the program.
Still, Borgeson is not sure if he has enough support for the bill to pass.
"I'm afraid it might not," he said. "A lot of people in Utah County are violently opposed to it."
Though the bill eliminates the exemption for philosophical differences, it retains exemptions for religious and medical reasons.