Pennsylvania allows parents to exempt their school-age children from the required vaccines for religious, medical or moral/philosphical reasons.

State Sen. Daylin Leach, D-17, is proposing legislation that would eliminate the moral/philosophical exemption. Leach, of Philadelphia, cited a low vaccination rate of kindergarten children in Pennsylvania.The state's young children have a rate of about 85 percent, among the lowest in the nation. By the seventh grade, the rate jumps to one of the nation's highest, 97 percent."My bill will eliminate only the exemption for 'a strong moral or ethical conviction similar to a religious belief.' Based on statistics compiled by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for the 2013-14 school year, 2,988 students received the religious exemption, while 3,394 received the philosophical exemption. Thus, my bill would reduce, by more than half, the number of children not vaccinated in Pennsylvania for nonmedical reasons," he said."Given the danger that a low vaccination rate poses to public health, it is imperative that we take reasonable steps to increase the vaccination rate."Local senators also weighed in on the proposal."As with any legislative effort to address the health and welfare of Pennsylvania residents, the proposal regarding child immunizations must be driven by sound science and led by our medical community," said Sen. John Yudichak, D-14."Every child deserves appropriate access to life-saving immunizations and we should not allow political rhetoric or false choices to overshadow the work and research of trained medical professionals."Jon Hopcraft, spokesman for Sen. David Argall, said the senator's office is "still reviewing the entire issue."Here are the Pennsylvania Department of Health's numbers of exemptions (for all school-age children) for the 2013-2014 school year:Statewide: 1,423 medical, 2,914 religious, 3,394 philosophicalCarbon County: Four medical, seven religious, 21 philosophicalLehigh County: 39 medical, 61 religious, 62 philosophicalMonroe County: 17 medical, 43 religious, 53 philosophicalNorthampton County: 24 medical, 51 religious, 74 philosophicalSchuylkill County: Nine medical, 18 religious, 26 philosophical