Photo by David Prenatt Katie Stratton urges the Westfield Academy and Central School Board of Education to take a stand against required HPV vaccine.

WESTFIELD — Concerned parents are drawing attention to a proposed New York State law that would require children to receive the HPV vaccine before they could attend public school or daycare, Westfield Academy and Central School Board of Education members learned at a recent supplemental meeting.

WACS parent Katie Stratton addressed board members about the bill, which, if signed into law, would require all children born after January 1, 2008 to receive the HPV vaccine. Stratton said proposed legislation will also make annual flu shots mandatory for children in all of New York State.

Furthermore, if passed, the law would allow minors age 14 and older to obtain vaccines for sexually transmitted diseases without parental knowledge or consent.

Minors over 14 would also be allowed to obtain any vaccine required for school attendance without parental knowledge.

“As a parent, I’ve never been faced with an issue that made me want to speak publicly at a board meeting,” Stratton said. “But I’ve recently discovered more filth and corruption about this issue than you could imagine.”

Stratton elucidated the reasons that parents should contact their state legislators, requesting that the legislation on mandatory vaccinations should not be signed into law. She suggested that board members make themselves aware of the safety issues regarding the HPV vaccine and take a stand against the proposed legislation.

Stratton told board members that the real issue is about governmental control. “This debate is about out government telling us what is best for our children and what should be put into their bodies,” she said.

Stratton noted that many other school districts which have publicly opposed the proposed law and she urged board members to provide an example to the students by taking a stand. “I ask you, on behalf of our children, to show them that there is a time to fight. Please take a uniform stance and draft a letter to our government citing opposition to this bill,” she said.

Westfield resident Kimberly Maras, who has experience as a community outreach specialist and a parent educator, addressed the board on the same matter. Maras sent an e-mail to board members prior to the Nov. 25 meeting to make them aware of the pending legislation.

Maras said she is not anti-vaccine but she is raising awareness of what is happening in the state legislature. She told board members that it is important that their voice be heard. “I want people to know they have a chance to say yea or nay,” she said.