Court: NO Vaccine Exemption For Amish Children; Amish FINED $118,000
A federal appeals court has upheld a decision requiring Amish school children to be vaccinated in New York.
These are not Amish children who attend public schools. These are Amish children attending Amish-owned and operated schools.
Religious objections do not work here, according to the Second Circuit court ruling. From Courthouse News:
MANHATTAN (CN) — A New York State law requiring Amish students to receive vaccinations does not violate those students’ constitutional rights, a Second Circuit panel ruled Monday.
The case, which the panel heard this past November, had been brought by three Amish community schools that were fined in 2019 for failing to comply with state-mandated school vaccinations.
The schools and Amish parents argued their First and 14th Amendment rights had been violated, as many Amish seek to live separately from the modern world and abhor vaccines.
I think “abhor” might be a little strong, but the point stands. Here’s more on why some Amish don’t vaccinate. Their attorney had previously argued:
“The state has determined that it’s OK to spare a child vaccination for the sake of their immune system, but it’s not OK to spare a child vaccination for the sake of their soul,” the plaintiffs’ attorney Shannon Grammel told the panel Monday. “And that’s the kind of value judgment the First Amendment does not allow.”
New York Cancels Religious Objections, Fines Amish Schools $118,000
New York Amish who rejected vaccination were in a good position prior to 2019. The state had previously long allowed religious objections on this matter:
New York had since 1966 allowed exemptions from mandatory school immunization for medical reasons or sincerely held religious objections. However, following a nationwide measles outbreak in 2018 and 2019, the Legislature removed those exemptions, joining four other states to prohibit any kind of nonmedical exemption.
No longer permitted this exemption, three Amish schools found themselves being heavily fined:
Shortly after the new rule was passed, the Dygert Road School, Pleasant View school, and Shady Lane school were fined tens of thousands of dollars each for violating state law after they refused to comply with the law. The schools and several board members sued the state for an injunction.
How much exactly were they fined? I found this explanation in the court ruling document:
Each violation of § 2164 is subject to a fine of up to $2,000. The DOH considers each day that an unvaccinated student attends school to be a violation. The Commissioner of Health concluded the total fines were “principled and conservative under the circumstances.” J.A. 127.
More specifically, the Commissioner of Health’s order imposed a $52,000 fine against Dygert Road School, a $46,000 fine against Twin Mountains School, and a $20,000 fine against Shady Lane School.
To calculate the fines against Dygert Road and Twin Mountains, the DOH multiplied the number of out-of-compliance students in each school by the maximum penalty (under the modest assumption that each of those students was out of compliance for only one day).
Because Shady Lane provided no documentation for its students, the DOH assumed that one student was not compliant for at least ten days.
That adds up to a total of $118,000 in fines against the three Amish schools.
Apparently a judge recommended that the fines not be imposed “due to a lack of adequate notice”…but the NY State Department of Health rejected this recommendation.
Judges: Wisconsin v. Yoder analogies do not apply here
In making their case, attorneys for the Amish attempted to use the arguments of Wisconsin v. Yoder.
That was the famous Supreme Court case which enabled the Amish to limit their children’s schooling to eight grades, on the basis of religious freedom. From the court ruling:
The parents also argue that the law is unconstitutional because it impairs Amish parents’ right to control the religious upbringing of their children as recognized in Wisconsin v. Yoder, 406 U.S. 205 (1972).
This didn’t fly:
The court found the analogy to the Wisconsin v. Yoder case incongruous, noting New York’s vaccine rule would not “forcibly remove Amish children from their community at the expense of the Amish faith or the Amish way of life.”
Part of the court’s argument is that the religious exemption is in some sense too broad – at least compared to the medical exemption:
The court noted that medical exemptions are typically tailored to a specific immunization, while religious exemptions apply to all vaccines. “The religious exemption’s sweep had a far greater ability to undermine the State’s interest in preventing the spready [sic] of disease,” the court said in its per curiam opinion.
Further, allowing religious exemptions caused “clusters of low vaccination rates and an inability to achieve herd immunity in certain communities,” the court wrote.
New York has the fifth-largest Amish population at around 25,000 Amish people. Amish in multiple New York communities have been affected by the 2019 change in the law.
Time to move.
They should leave NY for less authoritarian pastures.
Roger
“The court found the analogy to the Wisconsin v. Yoder case incongruous, noting New York’s vaccine rule would not “forcibly remove Amish children from their community at the expense of the Amish faith or the Amish way of life.””
If that’s true, why is it the SCHOOLS that are being fined and effectively threatened with closure? Schools don’t administer vaccines. This is exactly the Yoder case all over again, but with a slightly more insidious rationale. Appeal to SCOTUS pronto where I expect the court would be favorable.
The results of helping the right
If the Amish were less helpful in NC when they made biden look bad by builing actual homes in days for people vs. months of paperwork. If they had not helped what biden and harris consider deplorable they would have been left alone. 1000% guarantee jsut like the 7th Day Adventist have been for years. Joseph Smith may have been right all along….
Joseph Smith was a known fraud/scam artist. It’s already been proven and well documented.
This case started years before North Carolina floods. So building homes literally had nothing to do with this.
In fact, this case is the result of a nationwide measles outbreak which happened before Biden was even President.
So it has nothing to do with what you are saying.
With that said, I’m not a fan of what the gov’t is doing here.
We Are Stonger, United
I think all posting here agree that the God given and Constitutionally protected rights of the Amish Community are being violated. We must stand with them, and pray for them.
That being said, it serves no purpose to attack the integrity of Joseph Smith. I happen to have an inner conviction, granted from Above, that he was NOT a fraud, and was actually a true Prophet of God.
May we come to the support of our Amish friends, and not attack the beliefs of others.
Joseph Smith was a fraud. And Mormons know it.
Telling the truth that Joseph Smith was a fraud is necessary. For lies shall never become truth.
Joseph Smith was a fraud and it has been proven over and over.
Telling the truth that Joseph Smith was a scam artist serves great purpose.
Remember, Jesus did not run. He remained. Joseph Smith ran. Tried to hide. Tried to attack. Tried to destroy.
Joseph Smith and the Mormon’s history of racism, sexism, fraud, murder, well, when was Jesus any of these? That’s right, he wasnt.
Don't Comply
The Amish made the right decision not to vaccinate during the covid epidemic since it was shown that the mRNA shots were neither safe nor effective. If it’s true that the Amish have little to no autism, then that is further proof that vaccinations can potentially harm children. The Amish bother no one and their schools are separate from public schools…why can’t they be left alone? I hope they appeal this decision. No one should be forced to take a substance into their body that can harm them. My husband had the measles, I had the mumps, and my children had the chicken pox. We are all alive and well today, and we all have lifetime immunity to those diseases. Vaccine efficacy wears off. Check out the Children’s Defense Fund website to get more information about the dangers of vaccines.
Covid Vaccines Kill
I am not Amish, but I am a mother and a devout Christian and lover of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit led me to stay away from any covid vaccines for me or anyone in my family. My mother took that shot and died at 65. My cousin took that shot and died at 37. My supervisor at work took that shot and now has cancer on her spine and kidney. My step mother’s sister took that shot and died as well in her 50’s. I could go on forever, but you get the idea. It’s the mark of the beast and the Amish may or may not know, but as their sister in Christ, I pray they continue to fight the good fight. Gods law over everything. Not to mention aborted fetal cell lines were used to create the vaccine.
Jail Time...
Each judge on this panel will be going to jail. They have violated GOD’S Commandments. No one has an obligation to follow a fool into the depths of hell. No one poisons another & gets away with it.
K ✝️ P
#JesusSaves
This isn’t about safety of kids or anyone else. This is about the evil Luciferians who occupy our governmental positions of control and power.
Satan hates those who love God and serve Him.
Measles is not concerning to the public, nor the Government.
The Government wants to be able to mandate the injection of unsafe poisons into everyone’s bodies. Just look at the C-19 mRNA “vaccines” which are allegedly responsible for millions of “sudden deaths”.
This is a spiritual battle between God’s children and Satan’s children. Put on your full armor (Ephesians 6) to withstand these fiery darts!
We have several Amish neighbors who I consider friends as well as Christian brothers and sisters.
Preach salvation through faith in Jesus alone to them. They seem to lead more godly lives than many of the “churched English” that I know!
It's fight time
Don’t give up. Start a go fund me if you have to. This is tyranny.
Leave the Amish people alone!
Memo to the Communist government of New York State: The Amish people do not need your interference in their daily lives. They don’t want or need Big Pharma’s poisons in their bodies. Just back off…way off!
Amen!!
Use your free resources!
The timing could not be better for the Amish to fight this ruling!
*Reach out to The Children’s Health Defense—started by Robert F. Kennedy/current head of Health & Human Services.
RFK has already told the media he will be exploring vaccine safety.
The Amish could privately give CHD their current autism rates nationwide and allow CHD to defend them in court.
Here is the contact number for Children’s Health Defense: #404-941-6515
*The other option is to move to Florida—A medical freedom state where Gov. DeSantis and Fl. Surgeon General Dr. Ladapo BOTH advocate for parental rights to choose. Medical and religious exemptions are allowed in Florida.
*The majority of us respect and support you!
*The timing could not be better to tackle this issue. You need to gather your options while RFK is in office.
Leave them be.
They don’t bother us why is NY bothering them. I do biz with Amish here in Maine. Great American people! We need more of them. The rest of us Americans need to be more like them. There would be much less issues in our country. And no wars. MAGA!
Motivation becomes clear
The demonic insistence they have on forcing these vaccinations reveals more than anything their true motives. The Amish aren’t a threat to anyone and have not historically shown themselves to be any more susceptible to pandemics than any other group. I believe they were hit more lightly by COVID than most population groups.
People have the right to be left alone. Government has no lawful power to force medical procedures on people.
The government wants this because the government wants Satanic control over the population.
First amendment protection
Wondering if the government also forces native American (indigenous) children who are members of their tribes on tribal lands–meaning g they are not subject to the same laws as the rest of us to be vaccinated against their will? If not, why not since they are treating the Amish in such a way ignoring their First amendment rights!
This argument by the US go ernment cannot be let stand or it will destroy all our god-given rights with one swish of a pen!
Nor excessive fines imposed
Another constitutional angle apart from the religious liberty one. In Yoder v. Wisconsin, the fine in question was 5 (five) dollars, and that was cumulative. Even adjusted for inflation it’s only about $40. In this case, the smallest possible fine is $2,000, so *50 times* the number in Yoder, and that’s just for one day! The fine for one student for one school year (NY requires 180 days minimum) would be $360,000. That’s absurdly punitive, even to the point of being “excessive” under the US Constitution (the 8th Amendment). The fact that the state reduced the fines by (in effect) over 99% doesn’t show “principled and conservative” behavior, but self-doubt over the reasonableness of the fine amounts.
If there were really a compelling public health rationale, the remedy should not be fines anyways, but 1) the administrative closure of the school or 2) possibly placing a school into receivership. Of course, if the state is going around shutting down yeshivas (as it recently did, in fact) or one-room schoolhouses then the religious discrimination and the applicability of Yoder becomes more obvious and harder to deny.
Concerning Trend
Interesting case reflecting a concerning trend affecting all of society, not just this Amish community.
In central VA I’m aware of many many families who chose not to vaccinate their children and relied on the religious exemption, whether they were religious or not, in the public schools without any problems for decades. It appears this option is fading away.
I’d love to know what steps this Amish community will take next.
Health Freedom Law Firms
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"Abhor" is not too strong
Why do you think their use of the word “abhor” might be a little strong? Anybody who knows about them, what they contain and their effects abhor them.
This is obviously unconstitutional.
Because the statement and specific word are in my opinion a bit too strong and emotionally loaded given the counter-examples of hundreds, even thousands of Amish getting vaccinated.
https://amishamerica.com/nearly-300-amish-vaccinated-against-hepatitis-a-outbreak/
8,000+ Amish vaccinated against measles: https://amishamerica.com/ohio-measles-outbreak-amish/
Fight this nonsense. Take it to the Supreme Court, if you have to..
Friends,
You were strong, and can continue to be strong. God through the Bible tells us to be courageous. Claim on His promises.
Will be keeping you all in our prayers.
Regards
We stand with the Amish
I am so sorry to hear that this court is persecuting the Amish in NY. Medical evidence has shown that Amish children have significantly better health outcomes than their fully vaccinated peers. That includes a near-zero incidence of Autism spectrum disorders, severe allergies, and auto-immune problems. We support the Amish in their fight against mandatory vaccination.
Amish Vaccinations
There are “2 large Diaries” of David Zeisberger considered the first missionary to Ohio around the Revolutionary War period. He states when the Delaware Indians helped the soldiers at Fort Laurens (Bolivar, Ohio), commissioned by George Washington, many Delware became sick & died. The Delaware were susceptible to the diseases the soldiers at the fort still carried in their bodies after the soldiers had been sick with these diseases before coming to the area. We are around a lot of Amish in Ohio where we live. I don’t know of diseases ever being spread in my lifetime by the Amish in this area. Ohio Amish may already have the immune capability to ward off diseases by virtue of living in the USA for 2 centuries or more.
So NY violates Title VII, forces cannibalism, VI-AIDS, participation in products of abortion, and intentional poisoning
Any and every criminal under color of law responsible for every child harmed or killed by this ruling is directly answerable to God for the blood on their hands.
There is no longer any reasonable debate on the toxicity, deadly consequences, or intentional destruction of the body resulting from these poisonous injections, let alone the forced violation of sincerely held religious beliefs of those who believe that there is no man-made power on earth with the authority to force someone following the leading of the Holy Spirit to violate their duty to guard the temple of their bodies and those of the children for whom they are responsible as parents and guardians.
Meanwhile – the SCHOOLS are being fined, which means that these in-Justices are pretending that the SCHOOL is the legal guardian entity with a legal duty to inject poison into those children?
Fine – dissolve the school. Form a charitable foundation instead.
One parent of each child can attend for a few hours each day and mass “homeschool” as a co-op.
Anything. Literally ANYTHING, is healthier for those children than to get injected with the DNA fragments of murdered embryonic babies, Aluminum salts and other related toxins, let alone the mRNA genetic modification materials recently introduced to alter and destroy the future immune system of every victim.
Find someone to appeal this to the Supreme Court.
This REALLY needs to have a final word eliminating this tyrannical nonsense once and for all.
Thanks to Studies of Amish
Trump knows that Amish children are more free of disease due to no childhood vaccines. Please contact Informed Consent Action Network …ask them to proceed with legal action against Big Pharma congress/courts and Big Pharma controlled Left…..so that Amish Children can continue to be pure…as God and as Nature intended.