Oregon GOP criticizes vaccine mandate

The official Twitter account of the Oregon Republican Party sparked a backlash this week after it criticized state legislation that eliminated religious and philosophical exemptions to mandatory vaccinations.

“Oregon Democrats were just joking about ‘my body, my choice’ while rammimg forced injections down every Oregon parent’s throat,” the state GOP tweeted Monday after the legislation passed the state House 35-25, referencing a slogan frequently invoked in defense of abortion rights. 

Oregon Democrats were just joking about “my body, my choice” while rammimg forced injections down every Oregon parent’s throat. #orpol #orleg #HB3063

— Oregon GOP (@Oregon_GOP) May 6, 2019

{mosads}Two Republicans voted for the bill, including Rep. Cheri Helt, who introduced it. Gov. Kate Brown (D) has said she will sign it if it advances to her desk. The Pacific Northwest has seen a measles outbreak this year, with 71 cases between Oregon and Washington, which passed a similar measure in March.

Advocates for the bill argued public awareness campaigns have not been effective. State Rep. Andrea Salinas (D) noted that after a 2015 measure that required any parent wishing to opt out of vaccinations to either watch an instructional video or meet with a doctor, exemption rates for vaccinations only increased in the state. An unvaccinated child was confirmed to have tetanus in March, the first reported case in the state in nearly three decades.

The nation has seen more than 750 cases of measles in 2019 thus far, more than double the total number of 2018 cases, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The disease was declared eradicated in the U.S. in 2000.

The Oregon GOP did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Hill.