Judges Uphold NY Vaccination Law Before School Starts

With school about to start across New York, a state judge and a federal judge have dashed the hopes of parents who don't want to vaccinate their children.

Acting Supreme Court Justice Denise Hartman ruled Friday that a lawsuit by parents could not keep New York state from enforcing its new vaccination law. The parents wanted an injunction to stop the law from taking effect while their lawsuit moves forward.

The law eliminates the religious exemption for vaccines for school children. Saying you have a sincere religious objection isn't enough any more to get your unvaccinated kid into school.

Judge Hartman said in her ruling that "the Court does not, at this early stage of the litigation, see a path for plaintiffs to succeed on the merits."

Earlier this month, a federal judge in the Eastern District of New York, Allyne R. Ross, also nixed a preliminary injunction, this one arguing that the state's new rule violates U.S. education law and seeking to let students with disabilities go to school no matter what their vaccination status.

Hudson Valley attorney Robert F. Kennedy Jr., a well-known anti-vaxxer, was one of the attorneys in both suits, representing advocacy group Children's Health Defense in which he is a driving force.

His fellow attorney in the state suit, Michael H. Sussman, said the parents and Children's Health Defense would appeal Judge Hartman's decision. "As you know, we believe the repeal violates several constitutional rights. I expect to be in Albany on Tuesday, August 27th or Wednesday, August 28th presenting our legal papers. I will keep those interested apprised of the status," he said in a statement.

This spring, state lawmakers quickly passed the law, and Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed it, in response to the current measles outbreak—the largest in New York State since 1991 and the nation's most significant measles outbreak in more than 25 years. A full 90 percent of measles cases in the United States are in New York, most in Brooklyn, Queens and Rockland County.

As of Aug. 26, Rockland has had 312 reported cases since its outbreak began in October and officials said many more were known to have gone unreported. There have been 654 confirmed cases in NYC since September 2018. As of Aug. 8 there were five cases of measles within a local Mennonite community in Wyoming County, New York.

The law affects an estimated 25,000 students who claimed the religious exemption in New York during the 2018-19 school year.

New York has removed non-medical exemptions from school vaccine requirements for children who attend childcare programs or public, private or parochial schools through 12th grade. This will be the first school year for which there will be no religious exemptions to vaccinations in the state.

All children who do not have their required immunizations must have their first dose of vaccinations within 14 days from the first day of school. Parents and guardians of these children must show that they have made appointments for all required follow-up doses within 30 days of the start of school.

SEE: New York Ends Religious Exemptions For Measles