Florida is moving to become the first U.S. state to abolish all vaccine mandates, including long-standing requirements for schoolchildren to receive immunizations against diseases such as polio, measles, and chickenpox, BBC News reports.

At a news conference, Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo compared vaccine mandates to “slavery.”

“Who am I to tell you what your child should put in your body?” he said. “I don't have that right. Your body is a gift from God.”

While Ladapo pledged to end “all of them, every last one of them,” state officials have not provided a timeline or full details. Some mandates can be repealed by the health department, while others require approval from Florida’s Republican-controlled legislature.

The proposal has drawn sharp criticism. Democratic lawmaker Anna Eskamani called it “reckless and dangerous,” warning that it amounts to “a public health disaster in the making for the Sunshine State.”

Teachers and health leaders have voiced similar concerns. The Florida Education Association said officials were “disrupting student learning and making schools less safe.” The group added: “State leaders say they care about reducing chronic absenteeism and keeping kids in school - but reducing vaccinations does the opposite, putting our children's health and education at risk.”

Public health experts caution that the move could trigger outbreaks of preventable diseases. Dr. Debra Houry, who recently resigned from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, explained tothe BBC,: that around 270 children in the US died from influenza this past flu season.  Roughly 90% of those children were unvaccinated, “so vaccines are really important to prevent kids from having these significant diseases.” 

Dr. Nahid Bhadelia, director of the Boston University Center on Emerging Infectious Diseases, also warned: “It's particularly unfortunate for Florida because it’s such a big travel hub. They have people coming and going from Florida all over the world.”

According to the World Health Organization, vaccines have saved at least 154 million lives in the past half-century, while the CDC estimates childhood immunizations prevent about four million deaths worldwide every year.