December 2002

Groups challenge mandatory vaccinations in federal court

The constitutionality of mandatory immunizations is now being tested in federal court. The lawsuit is based on the expectation that mandatory vaccinations may kill a certain number of children and substantially harm others, according to a “friend of the court” brief filed by two non-profit groups, in conjunction with an Arkansas case heard in the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis.

The groups filing the amicus brief are the Foundation for Health Choice and Citizens for Health, both Washington, D.C.-based consumer groups.

The vaccine case was originally heard in two federal district courts. It involves some 125 children whose exemptions from inoculations on religious grounds were at issue when a lower court judge ruled that the exemption was too restrictive.

The two health organizations are seeking to broaden the significance of the case to that of a life-and-death issue. According to James S. Turner, the Washington, D.C. attorney who submitted the brief, this is the first time such an argument against immunization has been raised in the courts.

Mandatory immunizations are a routine requirement for attending school in many states. The brief contends that “the body of law justifying mandatory vaccine programs contains limitations on the state power to force vaccination.” The brief refers to the need for a demonstrable emergency (such as a threatened or actual epidemic); requires a medical opt-out for vaccine-endagered inviduals; and recognizes conscientious objecting.

Source: Foundation for Health Choice, freedom@foundationforhealthchoice.com

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