by Long Island Attorney Paul A. Lauto, Esq..
Mississippi is among the few states that deny school aged children the first amendment constitutional right to maintain a religious vaccination exemption due to sincerely held religious beliefs. This did not sit well with a Mississippi pastor who was forced by law, to exclude his own daughter from a private Christian school that he ran due to her vaccination status. The good pastor, among others, challenged this law in federal court.
The Mississippi federal court held that the first amendment demands that the state permit a religious exemption to vaccination for school children. This decision affirms the freedom of religion rights as established by our constitution and that these rights cannot be usurped by a state.
Proponents of the violatory Mississippi law, maintain that it is necessary to protect the public health. Opponents to the law maintain that mandatory vaccination is unconstitutional and fear based, as the amount of children that utilize a religious exemption is minimal at best.
To date there are now only five states remaining that preclude this religious exemption and still enforce the mandatory vaccination of school children. These states are New York, California, Connecticut, Maine and West Virginia. Perhaps this recent Mississippi federal court decision will encourage renewed legal challenges in these states, to protect and safeguard the constitutional rights for all American children.
Long Island Lawyer
Paul A. Lauto, Esq.
www.liattorney.com
Mississippi is among the few states that deny school aged children the first amendment constitutional right to maintain a religious vaccination exemption due to sincerely held religious beliefs. This did not sit well with a Mississippi pastor who was forced by law, to exclude his own daughter from a private Christian school that he ran due to her vaccination status. The good pastor, among others, challenged this law in federal court.
The Mississippi federal court held that the first amendment demands that the state permit a religious exemption to vaccination for school children. This decision affirms the freedom of religion rights as established by our constitution and that these rights cannot be usurped by a state.
Proponents of the violatory Mississippi law, maintain that it is necessary to protect the public health. Opponents to the law maintain that mandatory vaccination is unconstitutional and fear based, as the amount of children that utilize a religious exemption is minimal at best.
To date there are now only five states remaining that preclude this religious exemption and still enforce the mandatory vaccination of school children. These states are New York, California, Connecticut, Maine and West Virginia. Perhaps this recent Mississippi federal court decision will encourage renewed legal challenges in these states, to protect and safeguard the constitutional rights for all American children.
Long Island Lawyer
Paul A. Lauto, Esq.
www.liattorney.com
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