Ohio’s bill would limit employers’ ability to punish employees for not taking vaccines. • Ohio Capital Journal

A proposed Ohio House bill would limit this an employer’s ability to punish employees for not taking vaccines or other medical treatments. The bill’s sponsors laid out their case during the bill’s first hearing earlier this month.

Ohio House Bill 319, also known as the “Conscientious Right to Refuse Act,” limits was introduced by state Reps. Jennifer Gross, R-West Chester, and Scott Wiggam, R-Wayne County, on Nov. 8 of last year.

According to the bill “A business, employer, including an administrator or supervisor, health plan provider, health care provider, hospital, facility, nursing home, individual, political subdivision, private university, government official, residential care facility, government agency, or state institution of higher education,” cannot deny or terminate employment, deny services, or otherwise treat differently based on an “individual’s refusal of any biological, vaccine, pharmaceutical, drug, gene editing technology, RNA-based product, or DNA-based product for reasons of conscience, including religious beliefs.”

If a person believes that his or her rights have been violated, he or she may “apply to a court of competent jurisdiction for an interim injunction or declaratory judgment” against the entity, or “bring a civil civil action for monetary damages in a court of competent jurisdiction.”

Speaking at the first hearing of the bill on April 9Gross said, “With the founding of this great nation, there are two principles that underlie our Constitution: protecting the liberties of the individual and protecting our freedom of religion.”

Sanctioning unnamed government leaders who she says have “lost sight of what that means, and have allowed the rights of corporations and corporations to take the place of those of the individual and their right to conscience and religion,” Gross added, “To date, we, as a legislative body, have failed to protect citizens because their freedoms were disregarded at the height of vaccine mandates.”

Gross recommended her colleagues support HB 319 because it “gives Ohio citizens the freedom to refuse vaccines or pharmaceutical products without discriminatory measures.”

Wiggam also spoke on April 9, noting “that no part of the law will prevent the recommendation, education about, or access to any of the medical interventions described in this law,” and that the law “does not applies to children because Ohio’s elementary and secondary education law already allows conscientious, religious, and medical exemptions.”

In addition to Gross and Wiggam, HB 319 is supported by Ohio advocates for medical freedom(OAMF). Founded in 2015, OAMF is the leading anti-vaccine organization in Ohio.

HB 319 is listed as one of OAMF’s “current initiatives,” on their website, with the group asking their supporters to “contact the Chairman of the House Health Provider Services Committee, Representative Al Cutrona… and let him know why HB 319 is important to you.”

On April 9, after the first hearing on the bill, OAMF posted on Twitter: “Thank you Rep. Jennifer Gross and Rep. Scott Wiggam for providing great introductory testimony today for HB 319.”

Speaking about the Bruce Hooley Show on November 10thOAMF President Stephanie Stock discussed the support of HB 319 in the Ohio House 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 progressing well.”

Gross introduced the Vaccine Choice and Anti-Discrimination Act in 2021, for which Stock provided written testimony from proponents “Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom strongly encourages you to vote in favor of Ohio House Bill 248 to codify Ohioans’ right to maintain exclusive control over their health care decisions and reaffirm Ohioans’ right to health care privacy.”

In turn, Gross endorsed Stock when she ran for the State Republican Central Committee, saying, “Stephanie Stock has the leadership, strength and determination needed for the State Central Committee.”

Wiggam sponsored Joint resolution of the House of Representatives 4which stated, “No person shall be required to wear a mask or other facial covering,” in numerous locations, including courthouses or a place of “public accommodation.”

Wiggam appeared next to Stock on Always Right Radio 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 to disrupt society. We already knew then that they did not really work against viruses.”

The American Academy of Pediatrics wrote in an article published on June 30, 2022: “Face masks can be worn safely by all children aged 2 years and older, including the vast majority of children with underlying health conditions, with rare exceptions. In addition to protecting the child, the use of face masks significantly reduces the spread of SARS-CoV-2 and other respiratory infections within schools and other community settings.”

In 2017 OAMF distributed cards with anti-vax messages along with candy, to trick-or-treating kids. During the Measles outbreak 2018-2019Stock opposed limiting vaccine exemptions, saying: “TThe largest percentage complication with measles is diarrhea. I mean, you’re dealing with a relatively mild childhood illness that results in a rash and fever for about a week, after which the child has lifelong immunity..” In 2021, OAMF was deplatformed by Facebook for sharing incorrect information about vaccines.

An analysis of 250,000 patients, published in January this year by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania and the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, shows:Children and adolescents who received one of the major COVID-19 vaccines were significantly protected against the disease and showed no increased signs of heart complications compared to young people who were not vaccinated.”