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By JAMES JEFFERSON, Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark.
(August 14, 2002 1:06 p.m. EDT) - A federal judge has struck down a
religious exemption to a state statute requiring vaccinations before
children can attend public school.
The exemption, granted only to members of "recognized churches,"
violates the establishment and free association clauses of the First
Amendment, Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled Tuesday.
The decision left intact the state's vaccination requirement, meaning
students still are subject to the requirement with no religious
exemption to immunization.
The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by Cynthia Boone, the mother of a
student who refused to be vaccinated. The lawsuit said that although
Ashley Boone is not a member of a recognized religious group with tenets
against vaccinations, she personally believes that vaccinations "are
against the will of her God."
Cabot High School officials had barred Ashley from classes during the
2001-2002 school year because she refused to be vaccinated against
hepatitis B, a sexually transmitted disease.
Boone filed a federal lawsuit against the school district and the
Arkansas Health Department, claiming the state selectively allows
religious exemptions from vaccinations.
After the suit was filed, Wright temporarily ordered the district to
allow Ashley to return to classes. The order was later extended to allow
her to finish the school year.
As a result of the ruling, she will have to be vaccinated in order to
return for her senior year.
The effect of Arkansas' religious exemption, Wright said in Tuesday's
ruling, was to discriminate against individuals with sincerely held
individual religious beliefs.
"It is difficult to imagine how the state would have a compelling
interest in limiting the religious exemption to some religious sects and
individuals over others," the judge wrote.
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