New Mexico Sun

When the New Mexico Legislature called a special session, most citizens expected lawmakers to focus on crime and public safety, the stated reasons for urgency. Instead, without much public notice or discussion, they quietly pushed through Senate Bill 3 (SB3) – a law that shifts significant influence over vaccination policy to unelected officials and national medical associations, leaving parents with less control over their children’s health decisions.

The process was as troubling as the policy itself. The session came and went in a blur. Hearings were brief. Committee votes happened with little warning. Amendments appeared and disappeared overnight. Parents had almost no opportunity to weigh in before SB3 became law.

SB3 fundamentally shifts who influences vaccine decisions.Here’s what it does:

• Removes the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) as a reference for state vaccination policy.
• Gives the New Mexico Department of Health (DOH) greater authority to make vaccine recommendations, which programs are expected to follow.
• Requires all daycare and early childhood programs to follow DOH vaccine guidance, standardizing requirements across the state rather than allowing individual programs to set their own policies.
• Enables the DOH to issue advisory adult vaccine recommendations that could influence future public health guidance.

While SB3 does not remove medical or religious exemptions, it elevates the influence of organizations like the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), which has publicly supported removing religious exemptions and recommends COVID vaccines for children as young as six months. Parents should be concerned that the structure SB3 creates could open the door to future attempts to limit exemptions.

SB3 wasn’t demanded by the public. It was pushed through quickly, with limited transparency and minimal legislative debate. That should alarm anyone who values parental rights and open government, regardless of their stance on vaccines.

Parents, now is the time to take a stand. Freedom fades when people stop paying attention. SB3 may be the law, but it does not have to control your child’s health decisions. Review your options for religious or medical exemptions, speak openly with your school and daycare administrators, and make it clear that you will defend your right to say no to government-mandated vaccines. Talk to your neighbors, form local parent networks, and ensure that every decision-maker is aware that families are watching. The future of parental choice depends on parents refusing to stay silent.

Nickie McCarty is the State Director for Concerned Women for America of New Mexico. She is also a former educator and athletic director.