Vienna, Virginia http://www.909shot.com
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#9119
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“Protecting the health and informed consent rights of
children since 1982.”
DATE: January
31, 2002 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Federal Court Tells New York School District To Honor
Parent’s Religious
Belief And Orders School To Admit Student Who Refuses
Vaccinations
Rochester, New York - Federal Judge Michael Telesca ruled
in favor of JoAnn Curtis, on behalf of her daughter Bryanna Curtis, against the
Hilton Central School District and ordered that the 5-year-old girl be allowed
to attend kindergarten without being immunized. The School District will not allow Bryanna to attend class, nor
go onto any school property at any time a school-related event is taking place,
until her parents violate their religious beliefs and have Bryanna
vaccinated. For example, if her brother
is involved in a school play in the evening, Bryanna would not be able to
attend. The parents and students are
represented by Attorneys Mathew D. Staver, President and General Counsel of
Liberty Counsel and Joel Oster, Litigation Counsel for Liberty Counsel.
New York state law requires school-aged children to be
subjected to a laundry list of various vaccinations, including vaccinations
that are solely derived from aborted fetal cell lines. State law provides exemptions to the
vaccinations for medical reasons and to those who object based on religious
grounds. Bryanna’s parents, who are
Roman Catholic, are opposed to immunizations for religious reasons. They believe that their body is the temple
of God and that they should not defile their body with immunizations. In addition, several immunizations are
derived from aborted fetal cell-lines, and they believe that injecting their
bodies with such immunizations promotes abortion and violates the Sixth Commandment,
“Thou Shall Not kill.” The School
District required Mrs. Curtis to attend
an “inquisition,” where the District’s attorney was present, to respond to
questions concerning her religious beliefs. During the “inquisition,” she had
to respond to questions about her devotional life, her theology, the groceries
she buys, her medical history, and even
the type of toppings that she puts on her ice cream. The School District then denied her religious exemption and
Bryanna was not allowed to attend class.
In the letter denying her the religious exemption, the School District
stated, “[JoAnn’s] statement on August 15 that her children know how to eat
because they put fruit on ice cream as opposed to other sugar toppings, [is]
contrary to actions recalled by staff members of her oldest son using sugar
toppings on ice cream as opposed to fruit, at his birthday party at school.”
Judge Telesca said Mrs. Curtis “demonstrated that her
religious beliefs were genuine.” “This
court may not pass on the wisdom of [Curtis’] belief, nor on the manner upon
which she came to hold that belief, provided that she maintains a sincere and
genuine religious objection to immunization,” the judge said in his
ruling. Mrs. Curtis said, “I was just following my heart and God’s
command on my heart.”
Staver said, “This case represents a great victory for
religious freedom.” Attorney Oster, who argued the case in federal court, said,
“Subjecting parents to detailed and intrusive investigations, such as what Mrs.
Curtis encountered, not only violates the United States Constitution’s
guarantee of religious freedom, but also hearkens back to the Inquisition. The School is obligated by the Constitution to protect
and defend the religious beliefs of parents.
By denying the parents a religious exemption because one of their sons
used sugar toppings on his ice cream, Defendants case mocked those
constitutional rights,” concluded Oster.
Mathew D. Staver, Esq.
Liberty Counsel
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INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
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