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Amish children in New York face forced vaccinations after court ruling
Catholic Vote ^ | March 7, 2025 | Rachel Quackenbush

Posted on 03/07/2025 10:52:17 PM PST by Morgana

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.”


TOPICS: General Discusssion; Mainline Protestant; Religion & Politics
KEYWORDS: 2ndcircuit; 70to29; amish; chiefstooge; children; civilrights; elizabethawolford; elizabethwolford; harassment; judgewatch; millervmcdonald; newyork; obamajudge; obamastooge; persecution; politicaljudiciary; secondcircuit; theenglish; vaccines; wdnewyork

1 posted on 03/07/2025 10:52:17 PM PST by Morgana
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protest, raise hell, form a sanctuary city


2 posted on 03/07/2025 11:18:44 PM PST by Gene Eric
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To: Gene Eric; CFW

https://cases.justia.com/federal/appellate-courts/ca2/24-681/24-681-2025-03-03.pdf?ts=1741015808

before CABRANES, WESLEY, and LEE.

A clintonstooge, a smirking chimp stooge and a bidenstooge.


3 posted on 03/07/2025 11:44:25 PM PST by kiryandil (No one in AZ that voted for Trump voted for Gallego )
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To: Morgana

This is so wrong.


4 posted on 03/08/2025 12:45:00 AM PST by higgmeister (In the Shadow of The Big Chicken! )
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To: Morgana

5 posted on 03/08/2025 1:17:34 AM PST by SaveFerris (Luke 17:28 ... as it was in the Days of Lot; They did Eat, They Drank, They Bought, They Sold ......)
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To: Morgana

Don’t declare them as official schools with the state.


6 posted on 03/08/2025 3:00:45 AM PST by bgill
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To: bgill

https://www.nysed.gov/news/2023/department-proposes-regulations-substantial-equivalency-instruction-nonpublic-schools

Q for the Amish: Why in God’s name would you submit to THAT?!

For state aid??

If so, then you richly deserve what you just got.


7 posted on 03/08/2025 3:38:00 AM PST by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away!)
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To: mewzilla

Well, lookee here...

https://www.nysed.gov/nonpublic-schools

“The Office of Religious and Independent School Support (ORISS) is the NYSED office that has the primary responsibility of assisting New York State’s religious and independent schools to support their students. ORISS provides technical assistance in the areas of school start-up, operations, high school registration, professional development, substantial equivalency, and funding opportunities. It also provides guidance to families who voluntarily choose to homeschool.”


8 posted on 03/08/2025 3:40:36 AM PST by mewzilla (Swing away, Mr. President, swing away!)
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To: Morgana

Here’s a possible compromise:

1. Mandatory vaccinations for the children.
2. Mandatory acceptance of culpability for premeditated first degree murder for each child who subsequently dies due to the vaccination, for each official who decrees mandate #1, or upholds it, or carries it out.

Deal?

Hey, if the vaccines are “safe and effective” then you have nothing to worry about. Right?


9 posted on 03/08/2025 5:06:05 AM PST by coloradan (They're not the mainstream media, they're the gaslight media. It's what they do. )
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To: bgill

Does not going to an official school bring truancy problems?


10 posted on 03/08/2025 5:07:35 AM PST by coloradan (They're not the mainstream media, they're the gaslight media. It's what they do. )
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To: Morgana

Ok, let’s add mandatory Chemical castration for anyone convicted of rape! I’m sure the libs will support this action!


11 posted on 03/08/2025 5:12:48 AM PST by Lockbox (politicians, they all seemed like game show host to me.... Sting)
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To: Morgana

Interesting that so many people want illegal aliens who are not vaccinated and are bringing diseases like measles deported.
This article seems to refer to the vaccines usually required to attend school. Not the Covid shot


12 posted on 03/08/2025 5:23:54 AM PST by RWGinger
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To: Morgana

If the Amish yield to this their religion means nothing.


13 posted on 03/08/2025 8:15:08 AM PST by bobbo666
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To: Morgana

They are desperate to get their big pharma toxins inside of every arm in the world. Dr Bill Gates and his Fauci ‘Sickle’ evil at work around the world, meanwhile they exempt themselves from the same requirements forced on all of us.

Greek word pharmakeia (φαρμακεία) has multiple meanings, including:
Administration of drugs
Poisoning
As a poison used to kill, manipulate, or control others

The word pharmakeia is also the origin of “pharmacy” and “pharmacist”.

The King James translators used “sorceries’ for this word.

” . .. for thy merchants were the great men of the earth; for by thy sorceries were all nations deceived.” Revelation 18:23

Big Pharma has deceived all nations

One of the reasons why they hate Babylon at the end and burn her with fire.


14 posted on 03/08/2025 12:42:07 PM PST by captmar-vell
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