Actress Jessica Biel responded to concerns that surfaced that she might be an anti-vaccinations activist.
“This week I went to Sacramento to talk to legislators in California about a proposed bill. I am not against vaccinations — I support children getting vaccinations and I also support families having the right to make educated medical decisions for their children alongside their physicians,” Biel said Thursday in an Instagram post.
“My concern with #SB276 is solely regarding medical exemptions. My dearest friends have a child with a medical condition that warrants an exemption from vaccinations, and should this bill pass, it would greatly affect their family’s ability to care for their child in this state. That’s why I spoke to legislators and argued against this bill. Not because I don’t believe in vaccinations, but because I believe in giving doctors and the families they treat the ability to decide what’s best for their patients and the ability to provide that treatment.”
Biel’s response follows outrage over her decision to lobby with Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccination activist, against a California vaccination bill.
The bill would change the state’s vaccination exemption law to require the State Public Health Officer and not an individual physician to give a child permission to have a health exemption from being vaccinated and allowed to attend school.
