The Tennessee General Assembly is considering a bill that would restrict the state’s Department of Child Services (TN DCS) from requiring prospective adoptive or foster parents to get vaccinated.
After discussion and testimony, the State House Children and Family Affairs Subcommittee voted to pass the State House version of the legislation Tuesday. It is now on the calendar for the State Senate for Thursday.
SB 2359/HB 1726 would forbid TN DCS from “requiring an immunization as a condition of adopting or overseeing a child in foster care if an individual or member of an individual’s household objects to immunization on the basis of religious or moral convictions,” according to the bill’s summary.
Anna Morgan, a founder of a ministry dedicated to helping foster families in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, told The Tennessee Star she believes the new law will give more opportunities for people to take in children.
“I’m in no way an anti-vaxxer that’s saying nobody should do it, it shouldn’t be available,” said Morgan, a founder of Bridge Family Ministries. “I think people should have the choice to make the decision… That decision that they’re making for their family shouldn’t prohibit them from being involved in any part of community life.”
Bridge Family Ministries serves foster families in the Murfreesboro area by providing them meals and other necessities as well as child care.
“We actually know several foster families who have specifically not become foster parents because of that rule,” she told The Star about the current law. “It affects people’s decisions to adopt, it affects people’s decisions to foster.”
In a February 20 State Senate Judiciary Committee meeting, State Senator Bo Watson (R-Hixson), a sponsor of the legislation, said this bill would affect the current requirement for individuals seeking to adopt or foster to receive the influenza and Pertussis, or “whooping cough,” vaccines.
State law currently allows TN DCS to require vaccinations from people seeking to adopt or foster infants under 18 months or children with “significant documented medical needs.”
Watson told the Senate Judiciary Committee he found the current law to be “discriminatory and unfair.”
When asked by State Senator London Lamar (D-Memphis) about accountability for families who have children die in their care as a result of not being vaccinated, Watson said he believed such a scenario would be treated similarly to when children in foster care are physically abused.
Though the legislation as written could jeopardize federal funding for TN DCS under Title IV-E, other states have passed legislation similar to Tennessee’s and have had no disruptions of federal funds, according to a note on the bill from the Fiscal Review Committee executive director.
Tennessee received more than $250 million last fiscal year under Title IV-E, the note also said.
In 2022, Tennessee exhibited 35 reported cases of Pertussis at an incidence of 0.5 per 100,000 people, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That same year, Tennessee had two reported cases of influenza-associated pediatric mortality, according to data from the Tennessee Department of Health.
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Matthew Giffin is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Matthew on Twitter/X.
