NJ Mercury Ban Wins Round One

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BL Fisher Note:

Banning mercury in vaccines is a no-brainer. Congratluations to the New Jersey citizen activists who educated their state legislators on this health committee about the need to keep toxic mercury out of the brains of babies. Vaccine laws are state laws. If the federal government cant' or won't get the drug companies to take mercury out of vaccines, the only recourse for parents is to ask their elected state officials to do the right thing or vote them out of office and put someone in who will. Participatory democracy works if each citizen stands up and acts on the local level like these New Jersey parents who helped their legislators understand why a vote to keep toxic mercury out of vaccines is the only right one.

Link

Cherry Hill Courier Post, NJ

Mercury ban bill wins OK
By LAUREN O. KIDD
Gannett State Bureau

TRENTON

A bill that would eliminate mercury from all vaccines distributed in New Jersey by 2009 was approved by the Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee Thursday.

The measure passed 8-1 with one abstention. The committee's chairman, Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr., D-Bordentown City, a doctor, cast the lone "no" vote. Some committee members said they were voting "yes" with reservations.

Two months ago, a group of parents and advocates descended on the committee to try to persuade them to eliminate the use of Thimerosal, a preservative in flu vaccines that is 50 percent ethyl mercury by weight.

They claimed a connection between that mercury and autism or other childhood neurological disorders. But Conaway, saying no national health experts had found a scientific link, held the bill at that time. No additional testimony was heard Thursday.

The proposal was amended Thursday to grant the commissioner of the Department of Health and Senior Services the power to allow higher levels of mercury in vaccines if "he determines it is necessary to prevent or respond to an outbreak of disease or that there are insufficient amounts of such vaccines to adequately protect the public health."

In the original bill, both conditions were required to exist for the commissioner to allow increased mercury.

Earlier this week, Conaway said he was revisiting the legislation because "it may be important to be sensitive to the irrational concerns that people have regarding Thimerosal because at the end of the day we want people to get vaccines."

The bill can now be heard by the full Assembly. It hasn't been taken up in the Senate.

Reach Lauren O. Kidd at [email protected] Published: May 12. 2006 3:10AM --

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