Ritter seeks legal opinion on vaccine exemption elimination

HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut Attorney General William Tong is being asked whether it’s constitutional to eliminate a provision allowing parents and guardians of schoolchildren to exempt them from immunizations for religious reasons.

In a letter sent Friday to Tong and obtained by The Associated Press, fellow Democrat and House Majority Leader Matt Ritter asked for a formal opinion regarding any potential state or federal constitutional impediments.

Ritter wants the General Assembly to decide whether to eliminate the exemption sometime within the next 12 months. He says he’s concerned the exemption is being abused in light of an uptick in measles cases across the U.S.

Some parents say they believe such a step would infringe on their rights.

Ritter says California, Mississippi and West Virginia do not have religious exemptions.