Ohio legislative leaders hit the brakes on anti-vaccination bill as supporters hold rally outside Statehouse
Hundreds of people demonstrated outside the Ohio Statehouse as lawmakers there held a hearing on a contentious anti-vaccination bill.
Opponents of masks and vaccine mandates rallied in favor of House Bill 248, even though legislative leaders have already said they’re pumping the brakes on it for now. Republican Josh Mandel made a pop up appearance at the rally to advocate for freedom.
Businesses and health care groups are furiously pushing back against the bill. “I’m hopeful it’ll get killed,” said Pat Tiberi of the Ohio Business Roundtable, whose members include CEOs of Ohio’s largest businesses.
In a statement issued Monday, House Speaker Bob Cupp, R-Lima, said House Health Committee Chairman Scott Lipps, R-Franklin, was directed to have one hearing on the bill Tuesday, with no amendments or votes. The House will then “pause” hearings “while we work with the chairman, the bill’s sponsor, and all interested parties on this important issue.”
More than 400 people filed written testimony for Tuesday’s committee hearing. Supporters in an overflow room cheered state Rep. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester, primary sponsor of the bill, like a rock star when she asked questions of witnesses during the hearing.
House Bill 248 has triggered enormous controversy in Ohio. Witnesses favoring medical choices and less government oversight, as well as those prone to believing conspiracy theories, have pushed for its adoption. In June Dr. Sherri Tenpenny testified that the COVID-19 vaccine may magnetize people and have some sort of interface with 5G cellphone towers. Tenpenny was invited to speak by Gross.
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Anti-vaccination protests have erupted across Ohio, where they’ve blasted businesses for requiring mask and or vaccines and called for passage of House Bill 248.
Businesses, hospitals, public health experts and others have weighed in against the bill.
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The Ohio Chamber of Commerce issued stern warnings to lawmakers to drop HB 248 and butt out of telling businesses how to operate. In a recent interview, CEO Steve Stivers said he doesn’t expect most businesses to require vaccines but contends the bill is a slippery slope that could lead to more government regulation.
“The anti-business Republicans tend to be more populist generally, but this one is a very, very dangerous bill that I think moves us toward the government controlling the means of production,” he said. “Every Republican and Democrat should think about whether they want to be part of that.”
The former GOP congressman also blasted lawmakers for introducing the measure as businesses are poised to lose temporary protections against lawsuits related to COVID-19.
“You can’t take away their liability protections and also stop them from managing the risk,” Stivers said.
“Put simply, it strips the business owners of their rights,” said Tiberi, a Republican who served 18 years in the U.S. House and eight years in the Ohio House.
The original version of the bill would block public agencies, schools, child care providers and others from requiring or asking someone get vaccinated against COVID-19 or any other infectious diseases. Schools and child care centers would be required to explicitly tell parents about available exemptions to childhood immunization laws, including a catch-all that would allow them to skip shots for any reason.
Employers, including hospitals, would not be allowed to require workers to get vaccinated, participate in a vaccine passport system or disclose their immunization status.
The bill would also repeal state law requiring college students to get immunized against hepatitis B and meningitis to live in on-campus housing.
Vaccines and other advancements in public health are credited with extending life expectancy over the past century. Vaccines provide protection against infectious diseases, preventing illness, disability and deaths.
Advocates for House Bill 248 say they don’t oppose vaccines but are against government- and employer-mandated vaccines.
This story will be updated.
Staff writer Haley BeMiller contributed to this report.
Laura Bischoff is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.
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