Ethan Lindenberger, an eighteen-year-old Ohio high school student, spoke at a Senate hearing this past Tuesday discussing his choice to vaccinate himself against his parent’s wishes. Lindenberger posted on Reddit asking if he should get vaccinated without his parent’s consent now that he was 18 and, if so, where. His post went viral only a few weeks ago and made headlines across multiple news outlets.

Lindenberger’s parents believed that vaccines were some kind of government scheme and because of their beliefs, Lindenberger and his siblings hadn’t been vaccinated for anything. Lindenberger knew that his mother’s love and affection is present in their relationship, but he believes her belief in unreliable and illegitimate sources put him at risk.

On that Tuesday, Lindenberger served as one of five witnesses with the HELP Senate Committee to discuss the topic of “Vaccines saves lives: What Is Driving Preventable Disease Outbreaks?” The committee discussed the myth that vaccines are related to autism, the recent Measles outbreaks in Washington D.C and in Cleveland cases of vaccine-preventable hepatitis A, which double last summer.

“My mom was against vaccines, but she realized the danger of not getting one,” junior Aniyah Hernandez said.

All states require and have laws requiring students to be vaccinated, however, Ohio is one of 17 states that allow exemptions for religious and philosophical beliefs. ProCon states that no US federal vaccination laws exist, but all 50 states have laws that require children attending public school to be vaccinated against diphtheria, tetanus, and pertussis, polio, measles and rubella, and varicella (chickenpox).