By Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D.
When New York repealed religious exemptions in 2019, state health officials cited a measles outbreak in 2018-2019 among students in an Orthodox Jewish community in Rockland County as a key reason for eliminating exemptions.
Today, New York is one of four U.S. states — the others being California, Connecticut and Maine — that do not recognize religious vaccine exemptions. In West Virginia, the issue is the subject of ongoing litigation and political debate.
Other states, including Massachusetts, are considering legislation to end religious vaccination exemptions.
Last year, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), the largest pediatric trade group in the U.S., called for an end to religious exemptions.
In upholding New York’s law, the 2nd Circuit said that religious exemptions are “meaningfully different” from medical exemptions, which state law still recognizes.
The court said medical exemptions are granted only with “sufficient” documentation about the child’s medical condition and are limited to specific vaccines. Religious exemptions apply to all vaccinations that schoolchildren are otherwise required to receive.
Greg Glaser, general counsel for Physicians for Informed Consent, a medical group that filed an amicus brief with the Supreme Court in support of the plaintiffs in Miller v. McDonald, said the 2nd Circuit “erred” in its ruling.
“The State of New York actively favors secular exemptions (medical) while concurrently prohibiting religious exemptions. This unequal treatment directly violates the Equal Protection Clause,” Glaser said.
Michael Kane, director of advocacy for Children’s Health Defense (CHD), said the Supreme Court called on the 2nd Circuit to review its previous ruling in Miller v. McDonald in the context of the Mahmoud v. Taylor decision — yet the 2nd Circuit largely sidestepped that ruling in its decision last week.
“I find it very unlikely that the Supreme Court is going to allow that to be the final word,” Kane said.