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Parents of kids who can't get vaccinated ask lawmakers to think of them

As the debate over vaccination laws continues in Arizona, families like the Burman's, whose daughter has an auto immune disease, are asking legislators to remember them.

The vaccination debate continues to heat up in Arizona, as a measles outbreak grows in 10 states. 

Meanwhile, parents of kids who medically can't get vaccines, are asking legislators to remember their kids while making decisions, as vaccine exemptions could put their children at a greater risk of contracting diseases.

Rep. Nancy Barto has sponsored three bills that would expand exemptions for mandatory vaccinations. 

Brittany Burman's 7-year-old daughter, Blake, has Systemic Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis. 

Think of it as rheumatoid arthritis in kids, however, it not only involves her joints, but her organs as well. 

Blake is on several immune suppressing medications and cannot get vaccinated herself. 

Burman worries if there ever were a measles outbreak in Maricopa County, Blake could become seriously ill.

"Chicken pox to any other kid might just be a couple of weeks of uncomfortable, but with her, if she gets chicken pox, she automatically has to be hospitalized and she can actually die," Burman said.

Arizona is one of the easiest states to avoid childhood vaccinations. 

Parents can opt out with medical, religious and personal belief exemptions. 

In Maricopa County, the vaccination rate is higher than 14 percent in some areas. 

Gov. Doug Ducey has said he would veto any anti-vaccination measure that would come across his desk, however, Barto isn't the only legislator supporting vaccine exemptions. 

Rep. Kelly Townsend has likened mandatory vaccinations to communism. 

She elaborated on that statement on Sunday Square Off: "If you're a parent and you are having a government forcing a vaccine on your child against your will for the good of the collective, doesn't that fit the definition? So that was my question, where do we draw the line?" 

As the debate wages on, Burman just asks lawmakers remember kids like her daughter. 

"Just be aware of kids like that who have no choice," she said. 

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