Efforts by a Miles City Republican to make Montana the first state in the country to ban mRNA vaccines failed in the Montana House of Representatives on Wednesday.
House Bill 371 from Rep. Greg Kmetz was soundly shot down by a bipartisan vote of 34-66. Republican lawmakers were the only ones to vote in the measure's favor. Of the lawmakers who supported the bill, 12 sit on the House Judiciary Committee, which greenlit the proposal last week in order to send it to the full chamber for a floor vote.
The bill would have made it a misdemeanor to administer any mRNA vaccine for the treatment of an infectious disease such as COVID-19. It would not have applied to gene therapy products used to treat cancer or genetic disorders.
HB 371 targeted mRNA vaccines, which have become the subject of vigorous skepticism and conspiracies in certain conservative circles after being used to curb the COVID-19 pandemic.
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Discussion in committee and on the House floor mirrored the national debate.
Vaccine doubters say the COVID mRNA shot was untested before being rolled out to the public, and they claim injections have led to dangerous health complications such as recurring cancers, myocarditis -- inflammation of the heart -- or even death.
"This wasn't hearsay," said Rep. Kathy Love, R-Hamilton, a longtime dental hygienist who worked throughout the pandemic. "I did medical histories all day long in detail, and this is what I saw. I can tell you firsthand it did have an effect."
Opponents of the bill said the gene-based biotechnology leads to medical breakthroughs that save lives, and they cautioned against stifling access to such treatments.
"None of us can predict the future and other terrible viruses that are likely on the horizon," said Rep. Melody Cunningham, a Missoula Democrat and practicing pediatrician. "This bill would prevent Montanans from receiving innovative future therapies."
The opponents pointed to medical authorities such as the Centers for Disease Control that have deemed the COVID-19 shot safe, effective and the best course of action for protecting against the disease that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives nationwide.
Research from the National Institutes of Health also found that some individuals experience health impacts after vaccination, but "serious adverse effects" are quite rare.
"The purpose we come for in this building is to craft public policy for the welfare of our constituents," said Rep. John Fitzpatrick, R-Anaconda, who voted against the bill. "We are being asked to adopt a public policy that promotes what? It promotes death."
Vaccine hesitancy isn't entirely new, but it's gone more mainstream in the years since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The U.S. Congress confirmed prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. last week as the head of the nation's health agency under President Donald Trump.
Carly Graf is the State Bureau health care reporter for Lee Montana.
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State Bureau Health Care Reporter
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