Opponents of vaccination in schools lose again: court overturns vaccine blocking

The court blocked a lawsuit against the law, which canceled exemption from vaccinations for religious reasons. The judge emphasized that vaccination in schools is a “constitutional rule”. This publication writes timesunion.

A judge from Albany, New York, dismissed a lawsuit that challenged the constitutionality of new state vaccination requirements in schools.

More than 50 families filed a lawsuit in July 2019, alleging that the recent enactment to repeal religious exceptions to school vaccination rules was motivated by religious hostility and violated their freedom of religion under the US Constitution.

But in a decision last week, Albany County Supreme Court Justice Denise Hartman stated that the events leading to the adoption of the law “led to the implacable conclusion” that the repeal of the law was caused by public health considerations rather than religious hostility.

Opponents of vaccination

The interests of families are represented by lawyer Michael Sassman and prominent skeptic in matters relating to vaccination, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. They argue that a series of comments by individual legislators have revealed a motive for hostility to religion. For example, the one who called the religious motives of people opposed to vaccines “garbage,” and the one who called such people “selfish,” and their views on science were “erroneous.”

On the subject: New York court refused to allow unvaccinated children to attend school

"Here, the comments of some legislators, even if they make conclusions about discriminatory hostility and accept such conclusions as true, do not refute the collective decision of the legislature and the Governor of New York to repeal the religious exclusion from the general neutral law that applies to all religious beliefs," Hartman writes.

“In the interest of health”

Hartman said Andrew Cuomo’s memoranda of support for legislation and the government’s statement of approval, as well as the history of compulsory school vaccination in New York, made clear that the state works in the public health interest.

Dispute Act

Recall that on June 13 in New York, a corresponding law was passed in response to a measles outbreak that hit the city of New York and several provinces of the state. Several outbreaks of measles were recorded at once, both in New York and throughout the country.

Legislation amended the current Health Act, repealing the provision exempting school vaccinations for students whose parents have “genuine and sincere” religious beliefs. In accordance with this law, persons whose doctors confirm that immunization “may harm the health of the child” are exempted from medical responsibility.

According to lawmakers, the concern is that the number of parents claiming religious exclusion is growing. At the same time, the source notes, there is a growing movement against vaccines, whose members deny the scientific evidence of vaccinations.

The lawsuit filed on 10 of July contained a request for a temporary restraining order and a preliminary injunction that would not allow the law to take effect until the courts decide on its constitutionality. These requests were rejected.

The plaintiffs also argued that the timing of the adoption of the law (at the end of the session in June) indicates that it was not adopted in the interest of public health, but because of religious hatred, since measles outbreaks were earlier this year and had already begun to weaken by that time. .