Name: Brandon Abbinante

Topic: Non-Medical immunization exemptions in Illinois schools.

Specific Purpose: To persuade my audience that the Illinois school code needs to be
amended to exclude immunization exemptions based on religious objections.
Thesis Statement: Since doing so places children needlessly at ris! the Illinois School
"ode should not allo# $or children to be exempted $rom immunization based on
religious grounds.


INTRODUCTION

Attention material/Credibilit !aterial: %id you no# that! according to the "%"!
there ha&e been '() cases o$ the measles reported this year. That*s more than
t#ice the number o$ in$ections reported during the pre&ious year.
Tie to the audience: "urrently! Illinois happens to be one o$ the '+ states cited by the
"%" as seeing a recent increase in the number o$ measles cases. That means
the measles are right at your bacdoor! and it*s come $or your children. ,a&e they
had their shots-
Thesis and Pre"ie#. The number o$ children recei&ing non-medical immunization
exemptions in Illinois schools is on the rise! placing our children at greater ris.
This is being made possible by a loose state statute allo#ing $or children to be
exempted $rom recei&ing school re/uired immunizations based on religious
reasons. "hildren #ho are exempted $rom immunization re/uirements are at
greater ris o$ contracting &accine-pre&entable diseases and transmitting disease
to others. In order to reduce the ris o$ &accine pre&entable disease to our
children! the Illinois school code should be amended to exclude immunization
exemptions based on religious grounds.
[Transition into body of speech]: In order to understand why this statute
must change, we first need to understand a little bit about how exemptions
are trending and the risks that vaccination exemptions ultimately pose.

$OD%
A. A rising trend allo#ing non-medical immunization exemptions $or Illinois school
children is placing them at a greater ris o$ contracting and trans$erring &accine-
pre&entable diseases.
A. 0ne national study sho#ed that the number o$ exemptions granted $or
nonmedical reasons gre# by 1 percent per year bet#een '22' and 344)
in states that o$$ered personal belie$ exemptions.
B. Illinois happens to be one o$ the top 3 states #ith respect to the rate o$
non-medical immunization exemptions $or indergartners! according to the
"%".
C. A national study published in the '222 5ournal o$ the American Medical
Association concluded that! on a national le&el! indi&iduals exempted $rom
immunizations on non-medical grounds! are +( times more liely to
contract the measles.
D. 6urthermore! disease outbreas ha&e signi$icant costs! both in terms o$
human costs and costs to the medical and public health communities
charged #ith disease treatment! management! and control. 7Moser bill
testimony in 8ansas.9
A. Though &accination is re/uired by la# in order to attend school in Illinois!
%r. :amar ,asbrouc! director o$ the Illinois %epartment o$ ;ublic ,ealth!
says in any gi&en year! about 14!444 children are not immunized.

[Transition]: urely, with all that we know through statistical analysis and the
data collected over the many years vaccines have been around, obtaining an
exemption must be a very scrutini!ed process. adly, this is not the case.

A. The rise in the rate o$ immunization exemptions has been made possible by a &ery
loosely #orded state statute! allo#ing $or parents to ha&e their children exempted
$rom &accinations on religious grounds.
A. The statute! ho#e&er! re/uires little more than a signed attestation to the
parent*s religious objections! and states that the parent o$ the child does
not ha&e to belong to any speci$ic religious organization #ith a de$ined set
o$ principles #ith regard to &accination.
B. 6urthermore! the current statute opens up an a&enue $or parents #ho
cannot a$$ord immunizations to bypass the cost o$ the &accines rather than
see out public aid! needlessly increasing the ris to the child.

[Transition]: The "uestion that we really need to ask ourselves is whether
the risks associated with vaccination exemptions are acceptable. If not, we
must reduce those risks.

A. In order to reduce the ris o$ &accine-pre&entable disease to the community and
our children! the Illinois school code should exclude religious grounds as a basis
$or granting immunization exemptions.
A. This #ill lead to a rise in the total rate o$ immunization in school children.
B. According to the "%"! &accines gi&en to in$ants and young children o&er
the past t#o decades #ill pre&ent +33 million illnesses! 3' million
hospitalizations and <+3!444 deaths o&er the course o$ their li$etimes.
A. 6urthermore! =accines also #ill ha&e sa&ed >32( billion in direct costs!
such as medical expenses! and a total o$ more than >'.+ trillion in societal
costs o&er that time! because children #ho #ere spared $rom sometimes-
de&astating illnesses #ill be able to contribute to society


CONC&USION:
$ra'eli(ht/Transition. So no# that #e no# the $acts! #here does this troubling
trend lea&e us-
Summar: A loose state statute in the Illinois school code has le$t us #ith a la#
that allo#s $or anyone to place not only their child! but the community in
general! at ris o$ contracting &accine-pre&entable disease at a higher rate.
?ith this in$ormation! #e can see that there is a de$inite need to close o$$
students $rom recei&ing &accination exemptions based on religious grounds.
Tie $ac' to the Audience: As a member o$ the community! this problem is not
just con$ined to the school system. @i&en the impact that &accination
exemptions can ha&e on o&erall public health! the problem is no# also
e&eryone*s problem.
Concludin( Remar's: A simple /uote $or a complex issue. )Aou can ha&e the
best &accines $or a #oman or her child! but i$ you can*t get her to come and
get them then they #on*t #or.B -Melinda @ates-
?ors "ited
5anslo#! Cyan. B"%". =accination Cates among 8indergartners ,igh! but Dxemptions
?orrisome.B CBSNews. "BS Interacti&e! ' Aug. 34'+. ?eb. 34 Apr. 34').
Salmon! %. A. B,ealth "onse/uences o$ Celigious and ;hilosophical Dxemptions 6rom
Immunization :a#s. Indi&idual and Societal Cis o$ Measles.B JAMA: The Journal
of the American Medical Association 3E3.' 7'2229. )<-(+. ;rint.
Szabo! :iz. B"%". =accines sa&e ,undreds o$ Thousands o$ :i&es.B USA Today.
@annett! 3) Apr. 34'). ?eb. 3( Apr. 34').
Fnited States 0$ America. Illinois @eneral Assembly. 105 !CS 5"#$%&'1. ?eb. 34 Apr.
34').
Fnited States 0$ America. State o$ 8ansas. %epartment o$ ,ealth and Dn&ironment. (B
#0)* +accinations, -.em/tions from 0ettin1 mmuni2ations Based on 3easons
of Conscience or 4ersonal Belief. By Cobert Moser! M%. 34'3. ;rint.