I write regarding the April 7 article, published in the Press Herald, “Maine parents, health care workers again spar over bills to roll back vaccine requirements in school,” which was addressing two pieces of legislation aimed at rolling back religious exemptions for vaccine requirements.

It’s worth mentioning that LD 174, An Act to Restore Religious Exemptions to Immunization Requirements, affects a much wider swath of Maine’s population than just schoolchildren. This bill would also address health care workers. I’m not sure about other people, but many Mainers I know have been having a difficult time accessing adequate health care services. Seeing some of our nursing and medical staff return to the field could do wonders for the state of our health. It would also affect child care providers, young children and parents.

Having been in the field of early childhood education for over 20 years, I know firsthand the amazing amount of growth and development that happens in the first five years of life. LD 174 would again allow skilled providers the right to work, children to access supportive learning environments in the most formative years of their lives and help parents be able to participate more in the workforce.

We have “child care deserts,” with limited options for affordable high-quality child care. Maine’s children and families deserve access to quality care and there are people who want to offer it. We should be striving to encourage Mainers to help each other meet some of our biggest needs instead of legislating them out of it.

Ashlee DeTour
Old Town