Anti-vaccine movement focuses attention on Sarah Davis

Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston, debates on the floor at the Capitol during the special session on August 3, 2017. Texans for Vaccine Choice are targeting her in this year's Mar. 6 Republican primary election in hope of replacing her with Susanna Dokupil, a business woman who promises to align more closely with Gov. Greg Abbott's agenda. less Rep. Sarah Davis, R-Houston, debates on the floor at the Capitol during the special session on August 3, 2017. Texans for Vaccine Choice are targeting her in this year's Mar. 6 Republican primary election in ... more Photo: Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News Photo: Tom Reel, San Antonio Express-News Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close Anti-vaccine movement focuses attention on Sarah Davis 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

AUSTIN — A grassroots group focused on giving parents the freedom to opt out of getting medical vaccines for their children is picking a fight in Houston, in the heart of an area that’s home to the world’s largest medical complex.

Texans for Vaccine Choice has donated thousands of dollars and nearly a week’s worth of time knocking on doors and phone-banking to convince voters in southwest Houston to replace state Rep. Sarah Davis. They targeted the West University Place Republican because they contend she is trying to take immunization decisions out of parents’ hands.

“I think they have picked the wrong district to wage a war on vaccines in,” said Davis, who calls herself a proponent for vaccines.

The race is one of several the quickly growing Texans for Vaccine Choice group is targeting in this year’s March 6 Republican primary election at a time when a national anti-vaccination movement is spreading across the country. The group also is active in three races in the Dallas area.

The organization was created after the 2015 legislative session when Jackie Schlegel, an Austin mom who says her child was negatively affected by vaccines, noticed lawmakers were wanting to roll back rules that allow parents to opt out their children from otherwise mandatory vaccinations.

“We promote the preservation of personal liberties and informed consent by opposing measures to limit vaccine choice rights or discriminate against those who exercise such rights,” reads the mission statement on their website.

The movement grew quickly by making allies with conservative lawmakers whose platforms include the hallmark values of liberty and freedom that speak to traditional Texas values that jibe with the group’s agenda.

The number of Texas children who have gone without medical vaccinations for non-medical reasons has skyrocketed, up about 2,000 percent in 14 years. Non-medical exemptions, such as for conscientious objections or for religion beliefs, climbed to more than 52,000 from 2,300 in that time.

Davis proposed four immunization bills in the 2017 legislative session, including one to require parents to review educational material about vaccines before opting their children out of vaccinations.

She also pitched bills seeking additional reporting on HPV immunization rates, allowing minors to consent to cancer prevention vaccines and changing state law to redefine opt-out decisions as "non-medical," deleting reasons "of conscience, including a religious belief."

None of those bills passed this year; neither did legislation that would increase public reporting on how many students have opted out of vaccines at each school.

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Texans for Vaccine Choice successfully opposed those bills, arguing in favor of parents’ rights and children’s privacy. “At school where you do have a high number of opt-outs, we are creating a witch hunt against families,” said Schlegel, who founded the group, said at the time. She has not responded to repeated interview requests.

Their message is falling flat in House District 134, where Texans for Vaccine Choice hopes to replace Davis with Susanna Dokupil, a businesswoman who worked for Republican Gov. Greg Abbott when he was attorney general.

The political action committee, comprised largely of parents, has donated $2,500 to Dokupil. They planned to rally in Houston this weekend and send members to block walk for her in West University Place.

Medical district

The district is home to the highest concentration of physicians in Texas: 11,873 medical residents and working and retired physicians live there, according to the Texas Medical Association. That’s nearly triple the next largest district of doctors in San Antonio home to about 4,000 physicians and residents.

The district is one of the most affluent in the state. More than half its households make more than $100,000 per year. Nearly one in four households earn more than $200,000 per year, compared with one in 20 statewide.

The southwest Houston district includes the Texas Medical Center, West University Place, Bellaire, Southside Place and stretches north past Memorial Park.

The timing also couldn’t be worse for parents fighting for vaccine choice. This year’s influenza season has captured the national attention for weeks for being one of the worst in at least a decade. This race is also less than a year after a mumps outbreak in the Dallas.

"The reality is bugs don't care about your politics," said George Santos, president of the Harris County Medical Society.

"The anti-vaxxers are really a tiny, tiny minority of the community, however they're making a lot of noise and they're getting a lot of attention," he said, echoing concerns voiced by other physicians who live or work in the district.

"No one really understands why anyone would want to believe something like that," he said about the idea that vaccines could be harmful.

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He said doctors also are concerned, like Texans for Vaccine Choice, about the government getting too involved in the relationship between doctors and their patients. He likened the argument over requiring children to receive medical vaccines to the government setting a speed limit for the greater good of the community.

Many children with compromised immune systems are often times exempted from vaccines, but depend on herd immunity to stop contagious diseases like mumps from infecting a community.

Some in the anti-vaccination movement worry that vaccines can cause conditions like autism. Many studies have debunked those claims.

The political contest in District 134 is already contentious. Davis, a civil defense attorney and four-term incumbent, is the subject of at least $160,000 worth of political attack ads by Gov. Greg Abbott.

The governor favors Dokupil, who he said would better follow suit with his agenda.

Andrea Zelinski covers politics for the Houston Chronicle. As the election heats up, follow her on Twitter and Facebook. Send her tips at andrea.zelinski@chron.com.