Senator Mike Maroney, the chair of the West Virginia Senate Health and Human Services Committee, was arraigned on Wednesday, August 28th, 2019 on charges of conspiracy, house of ill fame and assignation and prostitution. He is accused of soliciting sex from a woman after allegedly arranging at least two encounters with her in his hometown of Glen Dale WV. Mike Maroney is a medical doctor who practices radiology at Radiology Associations in New Martinsville, WV.
Is there a correlation between the moral corruption of Dr. Maroney and his actions as a West Virginia Senator? As chair of the Health and Human Services Committee during the 2019 legislative session, he refused to allow SB 454, which will provide religious and conscientious exemptions from vaccination to West Virginia parents, to have a hearing and be released for a vote in the WV Senate.
In fact, the exact same thing has happened 29 times out of 34 exemption bills introduced in both the WV House and WV Senate over the past 19 years. Twenty Nine times, the bills died in the Health and Human Resources Committee, whether in the House of Delegates or in the Senate. Only one bill was approved by the Senate, but rejected by the House in 2003. That bill originated in the Judiciary committee. It should be noted that the Health and Human Resource committees are most always chaired by doctors, who are, by definition, conflicted regarding the issue of vaccination mandates.
How long will the West Virginia Legislature allow doctors, who belong to the American Medical Association, which categorically denies the right of any parent to opt out of any vaccine, head health committees when they have such glaring conflicts of interest? Doctors also make money by vaccinating their clients. And never mind any donations received from medical associations or pharmaceutical companies. Allowing vaccine exemptions is in direct conflict to their membership in the AMA. Doctors in the WV Legislature should not be allowed to continue this corrupt practice in which they exercise authority while they have a direct conflict of interest.
Dr. Maroney has zero moral authority, yet he wants to lord it over the parents and citizens of West Virginia. Dr. Maroney, as well as the other Doctors who have consistently blocked bills that will benefit the parents and children of West Virginia, have no authority to deny the parents and children of West Virginia basic freedoms and rights. Dr. Maroney should resign his Senate seat.
This prostitution incident further emphasizes the moral bankruptcy that has already been consistently exhibited over the past two plus decades. Enough! Committee chairs who are doctors must recuse themselves from the matter of deliberating on vaccine exemption or vaccine mandate bills. Put the parents and children of West Virginia first, not the interests of the AMA and large pharmaceutical companies. Vaccine exemptions for religious or conscientious reasons are the right thing to do for the wellbeing of parents and children in West Virginia.
It will also be helpful to pass a WV House and WV Senate Resolution changing rules to allow 10 delegates or four Senators to force a bill out of committee and to the floor of the House or Senate. Many worthy bills, including the 33 vaccine exemption bills noted above, are killed by mafia-like committee chairman. This goes against the spirit of the mountaineer state and its motto, "Montani Semper Liberi", “Mountaineers are always free”.
This article was updated on 9/18/19 to say that Health and Human Resource committees are most always chared by doctors, who are, by definition, conflicted regarding the issue of vaccination mandates.