Rep. Niemerg Reminds the House about
“Freedom,” “Choice” and
“Healthcare Right of Conscience”
State Representative Adam Niemerg (R-Dieterich), earlier this week rose to a point of personal privilege on the Illinois House Floor to remind the members of the House of their obligation to respect freedom and the healthcare right of conscience when it comes to covid-19 vaccines and masking mandates. Sharing with colleagues about his own children starting school, Rep. Niemerg chastised the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) for ignoring requests for real data and statistics about children hospitalized by the coronavirus.
“Back in May, I gave an impassionate speech about masking and the issue in our schools,” began Rep. Adam Niemerg. “It’s important now for the fall. I’ve requested data from the IDPH on a number of occasions and still have not received it. This is quite appalling to me!”
Rep. Niemerg pointed out as reported in the New York Times August 27, 2021, that from late spring into early summer, Britain’s elementary and secondary schools were open during an alarming wave of Coronavirus Delta infections. Masking was only a limited part of the strategy. For the most part, elementary school students and their teachers did not wear masks in classrooms at all. Instead, the British government focused on other safety measures, including rapid testing and quarantining when needed. Niemerg emphasized the medical opinion of Dr. Shamez Ladhani, a pediatric infectious disease specialist in London and an author of several government studies on the virus and schools, who was quoted saying, “the U.K. has always, from the beginning, emphasized they do not see a place for face coverings for children if it’s avoidable.”
“I agree with the science and the medical experts who say the potential harm exceeds the potential benefits, because seeing faces is important for the social development and interaction between people,” added Rep. Niemerg. “From the data I have, there is only a .004 percent hospitalization rate for children under 18 years of age. It is important to note that in the last 24 hours, 25 schools around the state have been put on a list for covid-19 outbreaks and most of them are mandating masks.”
“I get calls constantly about the vaccination and mask mandate from all over the state, not just my district from concerned parents,” continued Rep. Niemerg. “I’d like to point out that in Section 5 of the Healthcare Right of Conscience Act it states that it shall be unlawful for any person or public official to discriminate against any person’s conscientious refusal to receive health care services contrary to his or her conscience.”
Rep. Adam Niemerg closed his comments with, “we are complicit in this if we do not reign in this governor. This totalitarian governor is outside of his authority! The State Board of Education is outside of their authority! Parents should decide…Not government edict! It’s black and white…rein in this tyrannical governor! It’s time for the legislature to take action!”
You may watch the full video HERE.