Supreme Court Declines Catholic Mother's Emergency Bid for Vaccine Exemption
The Supreme Court denied an emergency application on September 8 from a New York mother, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, who sought a religious exemption from the state's school vaccination requirement so her five year old son could attend Waverly School in Eastchester. New York eliminated religious exemptions from school vaccine mandates in 2019 following a measles outbreak, and only medical exemptions remain available. Doe said her Catholic beliefs, including opposition to vaccines she associates with abortion, led her to seek the exemption. A federal judge and a three judge panel of the Second Circuit had already denied her request before it reached the Supreme Court.
The Court did not explain its decision, which is typical for rulings on its emergency docket, but Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch noted they would have granted the application. Doe's underlying appeal challenging New York's vaccine law is still pending before the Second Circuit, so the case is not fully over even though this emergency request failed.
