CV NEWS FEED // A federal court this week upheld New York’s vaccine mandate, requiring Amish children to be vaccinated despite religious objections.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled March 3 that the repeal of religious exemptions for vaccines does not violate the First Amendment, The People’s Voice reported.
New York eliminated religious exemptions for vaccines in 2019 following a measles outbreak. Under the law, children must be vaccinated to attend school — whether public, private, or religious — unless they qualify for a medical exemption.
In their appeal to the 2019 law, the Amish plaintiffs cited the 1972 Supreme Court case Wisconsin v. Yoder, which recognized their right to remove their children from formal schooling after eighth grade based on religious beliefs. However, the Second Circuit rejected the comparison, stating that immunization requirements do not fundamentally alter the Amish way of life in the same manner as extended compulsory education would.
In the court’s decision, judges ruled that the removal of religious exemptions applies equally to all children, making it a neutral law that does not single out religious groups.
The Amish, who have long resisted government-mandated medical interventions, now face a choice between adhering to their faith or ensuring their children can attend their own private schools. Some Amish schools and families have already been fined for refusing to comply, with reports indicating total penalties have reached $118,000.
The Amish community’s appeal had received support from officials across the country. Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, joined by 19 other states, filed a legal brief in May 2024 arguing that New York’s actions constitute religious harassment.
“New York has so little regard for religion that it will seek out, harass, and threaten Amish communities that want only to live out their faith amongst themselves,” Marshall said at the time. “Parents should not be forced to choose between their children’s schooling and their fundamental rights.”
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