North Cook News

State Rep. Deanne Mazzochi (R-Westmont) is taking a stand against legislation designed to force physicians to disclose to the Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) sensitive vaccine medical information without the consent of the patient.

“State Rep. Bob Morgan (D-Highwood) tried to modify the Immunization Data Registry Act by forcing physicians to disclose sensitive vaccine medical records without patient notice or consent,” Mazzochi said in a post to Facebook. “His efforts were widely condemned by Illinois doctors and residents across the state and he reluctantly withdrew the bill. Now Deb Conroy (D-Villa Park) wants to move HB 4640, which will have the effect of doing covertly and dishonestly, what Rep. Morgan tried to do overtly and honestly.”

Mazzochi chalks up the move as just more abuse being heaped on citizens by the people who are supposed to represent them.

“After the people of Illinois spoke so strongly on this issue, it is an insult to try to achieve the same results through a sneaky back door approach,” she said. “I call on Rep. Conroy to table the bill, and for Illinois residents to yet again explain to Rep. Conroy that they do not appreciate this cynical effort to have their private medical records targeted in this way, and for this purpose.”

Mazzochi roundly dismisses claims by Conroy that the legislation wouldn’t give any governmental unit additional powers over individuals.

“Rep. Conroy also has no answer to the fact that HB 4640 lets a public health authority demand any doctor turn over private medical records without consent, without any oversight, and without a court order, so long as they slap the phrase ‘research purposes’ on it, because that is exactly what her legislation says – and that is what we the people do not want,” she said.

In initially pushing House Bill 4244, The Madison Record reports Morgan found some of his own constituents opposed it. More than 10,000 residents filed opposition slips describing the measure that would have required all doctors, pharmacies, hospitals and medical centers to register their patients’ personal immunizations with a state-run database as “unconstitutional” and “asinine.”