73 catholic schools across Wash. will now only accept medical exemptions for vaccinations

SEATTLE -- Across Western Washington, 73 catholic schools have changed their vaccination policy to only allow medical exemptions for families.

The schools include 62 elementary and 11 high schools from Bellingham south to Vancouver.

The new policy from the Catholic Archdiocese of Seattle goes into effect in January, but there will be a grace period until next school year.

“We are just really appalled that they would not be protecting our religious freedom and religious right,” said Bernadette Pajer,who is the co-president of Informed Choice Washington.

The Archdiocese of Seattle will no longer except religious, personal or philosophical exemptions on vaccinations.

“We decided it was time to update the school policy for immunizations to make sure it’s reflecting our catholic teaching,” said Helen McClenahan, who is the managing director of communications for the Archdiocese of Seattle.

The change here in Washington comes after the 2017 statement from the Pontifical Academy of Life that says in part:

“A moral obligation to guarantee the vaccination coverage necessary for the safety of others we believe that all clinically recommended vaccines can be used with a clear conscience and that the use of such vaccines does not signify some sort of cooperation with voluntary abortion.”

But Informed Choice Washington points to their research from Merk’s vaccine insert and the CDC that shows fetal cells are an ingredient in multiple vaccines.

“The medical literature shows injections with fetal DNA fragments can cause tumors, auto immune diseases and they don’t have to make these vaccines on human cells,” said Pajer.

Archdiocese of Seattle says they believe in immunizations and their obligation to protect children.

“We follow catholic teaching and we are a catholic organization and so we want to make sure our catholic schools reflect that which is why we have this policy is place,” said McClenahan.

Pajer adds that for her personally, immunizing her son would be considered a sin.

“We don’t want our right to say no taken away,” she said.

According the Archdiocese, historically, about 1% - 2% of students claim a personal, philosophical or religious exemption.

Total enrollment is about 22,000 between all 73 schools.