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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 in Miller v. McDonald 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 a school — whether public, private, or religious — unless they qualify for a medical exemption.
According to the appellate court’s decision, three Amish schools (Dygert Road School, Pleasant View School a/k/a Twin Mountain School, and Shady Lane School) were fined after they didn’t comply with the law by requiring parents to present proof that students received vaccines. The schools, two school board members (Jonas Smucker and Joe Miller), and an elected representative for Amish schools in New York (Ezra Wengerd) sued the state in June 2023, seeking an injunction and claiming the law violated their rights under the first and 14th amendments.
US District Court for the Western District of New York Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford granted the state’s request to dismiss the case, deciding that the plaintiffs “failed to allege a constitutional violation,” and the Amish plaintiffs appealed to the federal court.
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.
The federal court 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. 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.”
