A proposed bill from the Ohio House of Representatives would restrict an employer’s ability to penalize employees for not using vaccines or other treatments. Supporters of the bill made their case during the bill’s first hearing earlier this month.
Ohio House Bill 319, also known as the “Conscientious Right to Refusal Act,” restrictsas introduced by state Reps. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester, and Scott Wiggam, R-Wayne County, on November 8 last year.
According to the bill “A company, employer, including an administrator or supervisor, health plan issuer, health care provider, hospital, institution, nursing home, person, political entity, private university, public official, social service center, government agency, or government institution of higher education“cannot refuse or terminate employment, refuse to provide services, or otherwise treat an individual based on “that individual’s refusal to accept any biological drug, vaccine, pharmaceutical, drug, gene-editing technology, RNA-based product, or DNA database for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs.
If someone believes that their rights have been violated, they can “file a motion in a court of competent jurisdiction for an injunction or declaratory judgment” or “bring a private civil action for monetary damages in a court of competent jurisdiction” against that entity.
Talking at the first hearing of the bill took place on April 9Gross said: “In the founding of this great nation, the two principles that underlie our constitution are: the protection of individual liberty and the protection of our religious freedom.”
Chastising unnamed government leaders who she said have “lost sight of what this means and allowed the rights of corporations and businesses to supersede individual rights and their right to conscience and religion,” Gross added: “To date, we as a legislature have failed to ensure protections for citizens as their freedoms were disregarded during the height of vaccine mandates.”
Gross recommended that her colleagues support HB 319 because it “gives Ohioans the freedom to refuse vaccines or medications without discriminatory action.”
Wiggam also spoke out on April 9, noting that “nothing in the bill would prevent the recommendation, education, or access to any medical intervention described in the bill” and that the bill “does not apply to children because Ohio’s K-12 law already allows for exemptions for religious and medical reasons.
In addition to Gross and Wiggam, HB 319 is supported by Ohio stands for medical freedom(OAMF). Founded in 2015, OAMF is Ohio’s leading anti-vaccination organization.
HB 319 is listed as one of the “current initiatives” on its website, and the group is asking its supporters to “contact the chairman of the House Health Provider Services Committee, Rep. Al Cutrona… and let him know why HB 319 is important to you.”
On April 9, after the bill’s first hearing, the OAMF posted the following on Twitter: “Thank you to Representative Jennifer Gross and Representative Scott Wiggam for providing incredible opening testimony for HB 319 today“
Speaking on Bruce Hooley Show November 10OAMF President Stephanie Stock discussed support for HB 319 in the Ohio House of Representatives and praised House Speaker Jason Stephens, saying “he’s been great for us.” He’s actually the most pro-medical freedom speaker we’ve ever had. So all our accounts are correct.”
Gross presented Act on vaccine selection and anti-discrimination in 2021, about which Stock provided written testimony “Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom strongly encourages you to vote for Ohio House Bill 248, which would codify Ohioans’ right to sole control of health care decisions and affirm Ohioans’ right to health care privacy”
In turn, Gross supported Stock when she ran for the Republican State Central Committee, saying: “Stephanie Stock has the leadership, strength and determination the State Central Committee needs”
Sponsored by Wiggam Joint resolution of the House of Representatives 4which stated: “No person may be required to wear a mask or other facial covering” in many places, including in a courthouse or “place of public accommodation.”
Wiggam appeared alongside Stock on Radio Always Right with Bob Frantz in an interview from December 1 last year. In it, Wiggam criticized the effectiveness of masks in preventing disease, claiming that “the mask movement was more of a public policy aimed at disrupting public order. We knew then that they didn’t really work on viruses.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics, in an article published on June 30, 2022, wrote: “Face masks can be safely worn by all children 2 years and older, with few exceptions, including the extensive majority of children with underlying health conditions. In addition to protecting your child, the exploit of face masks significantly reduces the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory infections in schools and other community settings“
In 2017, OAM cards handed out with anti-vaccination messages along with candy for trick-or-treating children. While Measles epidemic in 2018–2019Stock opposed limiting vaccine exemptions, saying: “TThe highest percentage of measles complications is diarrhea. What I mean is a relatively soft childhood illness that causes a rash and fever for about a week, and then the child gains lifelong immunity” In 2021 OAMF has been removed from the platform by Facebook for sharing false information about vaccines.
An analysis of 250,000 patients, published this January by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, shows that “Children and adolescents who received one of the main vaccines against Covid-19 were significantly protected against the disease and did not show more regular symptoms of cardiac complications compared to youthful people who were not vaccinated”
