Gov. Ned Lamont Wednesday signed legislation that would end Connecticut’s religious exemption for mandatory school vaccinations beginning in the 2022 school year. . . .

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“When it comes to the safety of our children, we need to take an abundance of caution,” Lamont said, in a written statement. “This legislation is needed to protect our kids against serious illnesses that have been well-controlled for many decades, such as measles, tuberculosis, and whooping cough, but have reemerged. In recent years, the number of children in our state who have not received routine vaccinations has been steadily increasing, which has been mirrored by significant growth in preventable diseases across the nation.

“I want to make it clear, this law does not take away the choice of parents to make medical decisions for their children. But, if they do choose not to have their children vaccinated, this bill best ensures that other children and their families will not be exposed to these deadly diseases for hours each day in our schools.”

After nine hours of debate, The state Senate gave final legislative approval to the measure late Tuesday after nine hours of debate.

The vote was 22 to 14, with two Democrats — Sens. Cathy Osten of Sprague and Dennis Bradley of Bridgeport — joining the Republicans in rejecting the measure.

Under the bill, only students who obtain a medical exemption would be permitted to attend public or private school in the state without a vaccine. . . .

Sen. Martin Looney called the bill a “very modest and highly incremental response” to a potential public health crisis. “However it is important that we establish the principle that the only exceptions to school vaccinations should be medical ones. This is a medical question, it is a public health question, it is not legitimately any other kind of question.”

Critics say the bill violates the state’s constitutional guarantee to provide an education and pledged to file a lawsuit to stop it from taking effect. . . .

Just as the Senate was beginning its debate, a crowd of several thousand people gathered outside the Capitol in a show of opposition.

“This is discrimination and it goes against our First Amendment,’’ said the Rev. Yashica Blue, the minister of a non-denominational church in Hartford. She wore a T-shirt that read “This mom calls the shots.”

The rally began with a prayer service and featured several nationally known critics of vaccination mandates, including Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Protesters broke out in occasional chants of ’’kill the bill’’ and vowed to remain on the grounds outside the Capitol until the Senate voted.

Few issues have been as contentious and polarizing as the effort to rescind the religious exemption, which has been enshrined in state law since 1959. Tuesday’s rally was the second mass protest against repeal of the exemption:  . . .

House Bill 6423 would eliminate the religious exemption for the requirement that children be inoculated against measles, mumps and other communicable diseases before entering school.  . . .

The overwhelming majority of parents follow the state’s immunization rules but in some pockets of Connecticut, vaccination rates have dipped in recent years, leading some public health experts to worry about community immunity.

Parents of children who have a compromised immune system or another underlying medical condition that can put them at risk of an adverse outcome from a vaccine could still secure a medical exemption from a physician.

The bill has divided the legislature, with most Democrats supporting it and most Republicans opposed.

The GOP filed more than 55 amendments to the bill, which led to a lengthy debate.

That partisan split was evident moments after the Senate began debate on the measure at 12:20 p.m. . . .

Abrams said the number of families seeking religious exemptions has climbed in recent years. “The increase in the use of the non-medical exemption has created a situation we must now address,’’ she said.

In the 2013-14 academic year, 316 students received the religious exemption, out of about 96,000 students entering school. In 2019-20, that number had increased to 1,536. Many of those exemptions are concentrated in a relatively few schools, she said. . . .

Sen. Tony Hwang of Fairfield, the ranking Republican on the public health committee, said he believes in vaccinations. His own two children were vaccinated and he recently received his COVID-19 shot. . . .

Hwang said he believes it is a parent’s responsibility, not the state’s, to decide whether or not their child should be vaccinated, and he noted that most of the 3,500 people submitted testimony to the legislature about the bill agree. . . .

Sen. Rob Sampson, a Republican from Wolcott, said the bill is not about vaccines. “It is about the government power, greatly expanding the role and reach of government into our personal lives … and should make each of us wonder whether we are still free citizens living in anything that even resembles America,’’ he said.

A previous version of the bill called for a “grandfather” clause only for students in seventh grade and above. But as part of a compromise, Democrats amended the measure that would allow all students with existing religious exemptions to remain in school.

That change was not enough to win over Tara Carr, a Brookfield mother of four. She said she will leave the state if the religious exemption is removed.

Carr is a U.S. Army veteran who served in China and Afghanistan, among other places. “I watched my friends die to protect religious freedom and now my home state is taking it away,’’ she said. “It’s disgusting, representatives should be ashamed of themselves.” . . .

Share your prayers for the effects that this bill being removed will bring to the state of Connecticut. . .

(Excerpt from MSN News. Article by Daniela Antimari. Photo Credit: Unsplash.)