Minnesota parents could soon be required to talk to a doctor about the risks and benefits of vaccines before they can opt their children out of mandatory vaccination.

That’s the proposal out this week from Rep. Mike Freiberg, DFL-Golden Valley. It comes out — by coincidence — a day after a University of Minnesota student came down with measles, a disease once largely eradicated in the United States due to vaccination.

There’s “a lot of misinformation” about the dangers of vaccines, Freiberg said. “Hopefully, a visit with a doctor or a nurse could help dispel some of that misinformation,” he said.

It was unclear what chance Freiberg’s bill has of becoming law. A similar measure he introduced last year died in its first committee.

But this year’s bill comes in the middle of a national measles outbreak believed to have started when unvaccinated people caught the highly contagious disease at Disneyland in Anaheim, Calif.

Most Minnesota children have received the vaccine for measles, mumps and rubella. Last year, 7 percent of the state’s kindergarteners and 3 percent of its seventh-graders had not received the vaccine.

All of Freiberg’s co-sponsors in the Republican-controlled House are members of his Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party. He said some Republicans have promised to support the bill on the House floor, but it first would have to pass out of committee.

State law requires immunizations but allows people to opt out for medical reasons or if vaccinations clash with their beliefs.

Explicitly stated conscientious objections account for less than half the state’s unvaccinated schoolchildren. A small number have medical exemptions, but most are out of compliance without an explanation.

A small but growing movement of parents opposes vaccines, believing they pose health risks that outweigh the benefits of immunization.

Jerri Johnson, public relations coordinator for the National Health Freedom Coalition, said her group opposes any effort to make opting out of vaccination more difficult — such as Freiberg’s bill.

“We would really regret that attempt to restrict parents’ rights to make their own decisions about their children, and the effort to make it harder for them to opt out if they make that decision for their children,” Johnson said.

“The decision to not vacinate has risks and it has benefits. Parents have to weigh the risks against the benefits for any decision they make.”

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about whose guidelines doctors would be required to inform parents under Freiberg’s bill, says vaccination “can cause side effects” for some people. Children with allergies or suppressed immune systems should delay or skip some vaccinations.

But the CDC condemns “myths and misinformation about vaccine safety,” some of which may stem from coincidences when children become ill for unrelated reasons shortly after vaccination, it says.

One concern with vaccination opt-outs is the concept of “herd immunity” — the benefit to an entire population if enough of its members are immune to a disease. If the vaccination rate is high enough, diseases such as measles can’t get a foothold. That means unvaccinated people — such as infants too young for their shots, or people with suppressed immune systems — are protected from the disease despite not being immune to it.

Freiberg cited herd immunity as a reason for his bill, which he hopes will lead to higher vaccination rates.

“You could make an argument that parents have a right to choose whether or not to vaccinate their own children, but the act of not doing so actually does place other children at risk,” he said.

The Minnesota Medical Association hasn’t endorsed Freiberg’s bill but supports its goals, spokesman Dan Hauser said in an email.

“We all want to increase vaccination rates in Minnesota,” Hauser said. “Vaccinations only work when everyone is vaccinated so if this law leads in that direction then we support it.”

Freiberg’s bill is based on a law passed by Washington state in 2011. Oregon and California subsequently passed similar laws. All three states had high rates of vaccine opt-outs.

The Washington law requires a consultation with a doctor, and since its passage, the state’s vaccine waiver rate dropped 27 percent, according to the Associated Press.

University of Minnesota officials emailed students, staff and faculty this week that a student had been infected with measles. The email noted that the campus population was “highly immunized” but listed precautions and urged students with concerns to visit the Boynton Health Service.

The email also outlined the schedule of the infected student: classes from Jan. 20 through Jan. 23 on the East Bank, and a visit to the University Recreation and Wellness Center on the evening of Jan. 20.

It noted that the health service was trying to reach anyone who might have had contact with the 20-year-old male student, who was recovering off campus.

Tad Vezner contributed to this report. David Montgomery can be reached at 651-224-5064. Follow him at twitter.com/dhmontgomery.

GETTING THEIR SHOTS

Minnesota public school kindergarteners vaccinated, by disease, 2013-14:

— Diptheria, tetanus and diptheria (DTaP): 96.9 percent

— Polio: 96.9 percent

— Measles, mumps and rubella (MMR): 93.6 percent

— Hepatitis B: 96.9 percent

— Chicken pox/varicella: 92.8 percent

* Vaccination rates for kindergarteners in private school are several percentage points lower for each disease.

Source: Minnesota Department of Health