KANSAS CITY, Mo. _ A federal judge has ruled that an unvaccinated child must leave a Kansas City charter school unless the parents do one of two things: Get the child the proper shots or file for a religious exemption.
Zach and Audrey Baker, the parents of the unvaccinated child, sued over Missouri vaccine requirements, arguing that the process of filing an exemption for vaccines violates religious freedom.
In the ruling issued Friday, U.S. District Court Judge Howard Sachs said Crossroads Charter Schools has the right to suspend the unvaccinated child.
"Possible harm to the child, by suspension from school, would be the result of parental failure to obtain, execute and submit the (state health department) religious exemption form which can be acquired by much less effort than writing a brief," Sachs wrote, adding that vaccination programs safeguard public health.
Health experts point to scientific research showing that vaccines are safe and effective and that unvaccinated children pose a health risk to others. Opposition to vaccines grew in the Kansas City area this summer, including in the Kansas suburbs, as parents faced new back-to-school requirements from the state.
Diseases once thought to be eradicated in this country, such as measles, have reappeared as the anti-vaccination movement has gained steam. Measles is largely preventable with a shot, yet growing numbers of unvaccinated people have caused cases to skyrocket. Last year Kansas had its worst outbreak in 25 years, with most cases concentrated in Johnson County.
The World Health Organization has called vaccine hesitancy one of the top threats to global health.
Missouri and Kansas both still allow religious and medical exemptions to vaccines. But attorney Linus Baker, of Stilwell in Johnson County, argued that schools should not require parents to fill out an exemption form provided by the health department, which includes a warning about the dangers of not vaccinating children.
"The government is targeting these parents when they exercise their religious speech," said Baker, the grandfather of the student. "They've hijacked and censored the parents' own message."
In the ruling, the judge said warning parents as they file a religious exemption is a "useful opportunity for last-minute persuasion" to encourage people to vaccinate their children. Other states include a similar warning on exemption forms.
"In this case, the state is using its own facilities to deliver its message. No case is cited that would bar effective salesmanship by the state, targeting the group most needing its message," Sachs wrote.
Baker said the family plans to appeal.
Meanwhile, he has also filed a lawsuit in Kansas on behalf of another unvaccinated grandchild, whom he and his wife adopted as their son. That suit, which names the Blue Valley school district and Kansas state health officials, argues against Kansas' requirements for filing religious exemptions for vaccines.
Similar lawsuits have been cropping up across the country, especially in New York and California, since both states eliminated religious and personal belief exemptions for vaccines following the widespread measles outbreak.
