Parents defeat SB 866! Senator withdraws bill in response to "vocal" opponents.

Big news out of Sacramento: state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco) withdrew his disastrous measure, SB 866, yesterday on the final day of the legislative session. The bill would have allowed children as young as 15 years of age to get any vaccine without their parents' or doctors' knowledge or permission.

Wiener surrendered in the face of a months-long grassroots movement of parents, parents' rights groups and concerned citizens across California who vehemently opposed the bill. In a statement yesterday, Wiener acknowledged that his bill did not have enough votes because of "a small but highly vocal minority of anti-vaxxers" and vowed that his coalition backing the bill "isn't going anywhere."


NEWS FLASH for Senator Wiener: California's parents aren't going anywhere either — and they're just getting started.


In fact, the grassroots movement against SB 866 was massive and diverse, with citizens of all political stripes and beliefs united in defeating Wiener's umpteenth attempt to put children at risk by treating them like adults under state law and stripping parents of their rights to make the decisions that are best for their families.


Thank you to the hundreds of Californians who used California Policy Center's Take Action tool to email their legislator and sign CPC's petition opposing SB 866. The defeat of SB 866 is ultimately a victory for every Californian because, at at time when government overreach is at an all-time high, you showed state lawmakers that the people, not politicians, still hold the power in Sacramento.

Rebecca Holz
Director 
Parent Union | California Policy Center