http://dailynews.yahoo.com/h/hsn/20011116/hl/two_moms_want_shots_deep-sixed_1.html
Saturday November 17 02:37 AM EST
By
Randy Dotinga
HealthScoutNews Reporter
FRIDAY, Nov. 16 (HealthScoutNews) -- In a case that could set a precedent in
the ongoing battle over immunization rights, two Arkansas women are suing in
federal court to stop the state from forcing their children to be vaccinated.
While one woman is fighting a hepatitis immunization, and the other wants an
exemption from a chicken pox vaccine, both say their opposition is based in
their Roman Catholic beliefs. They argue that their religious convictions
should outweigh state law.
State officials, however, say the two plaintiffs have no choice because they
don't qualify for religious-based exemptions granted when an entire religious
group finds vaccinations intolerable.
While the state must uphold religious freedom, "we also have to protect
the public against communicable diseases," says Reginald Rogers, deputy
general counsel for the Arkansas Department of Health.
Like other states, Arkansas requires children to get a variety of
vaccinations. In this case, chicken pox immunization before kindergarten and
hepatitis B immunization for kids older than 10 were mandated only a year ago.
Susan Brock, a parent of four school-age children, objects to the hepatitis
B vaccine because it protects against a disease that is mainly spread through
sexual intercourse and intravenous drug use, says her attorney, Mathew Staver.
Hepatitis B strikes the liver and can be fatal.
Brock teaches her children to avoid premarital sex and illegal drug use,
says Staver, president of the Florida-based Liberty Counsel legal organization.
"It violates her religious convictions for her to have the state mandate
an injection contrary to what she believes. It would be like the government
requiring a Jew to eat pork because the government wants to promote pork,"
he says.
The other mother, Shannon Law, opposes the recently developed chicken pox
vaccine because it was derived from cells taken from aborted fetuses, Staver
says. Law opposes abortion, and forcing chicken pox vaccination on her son is
akin to making someone take a medicine developed during research on Holocaust
victims, he says.
The state law allowing religious exemptions is too strict, the lawyer says.
"It gives preference to some religious doctrines or institutions over
others."
Any ruling against the state would be valid only in Arkansas, but it could
set a precedent if similar issues arise elsewhere, Staver says.
Federal Judge Susan Webber Wright heard arguments in the case last week. The
judge, who is famous for her rulings in the Paula Jones case against former
President Bill Clinton, seemed skeptical of the state law allowing some
religious exemption, Staver says.
Rogers, the state health department's attorney, declines to say how he
thinks Wright will rule in a decision expected later this year. But he did say
the state grants about 400 exemptions to vaccinations each year on religious
grounds.
The state makes sure that those who get exemptions have "sincerely held
beliefs in a recognized church," he says.
The law puts health officials in the unusual position of deciding what an
established religion is, and what it believes. But that's an acceptable
standard, says Arthur Caplan, director of the Center for Bioethics at the
University of Pennsylvania.
The state is trying to show that "you are an adherent to a recognized
religious tradition," he says. That makes sense because "religion is
not seen as subjective, personal and individual," he says.
Instead, he says religion is grounded in society and culture.
What To Do
Learn more about childhood vaccinations in this guide
from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (news
- web
sites).
What are the immunization requirements of your state? Find out with the help
of the National
Network for Immunization Information.
ALL
INFORMATION, DATA, AND MATERIAL CONTAINED, PRESENTED, OR PROVIDED HERE IS FOR
GENERAL INFORMATION PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED AS REFLECTING THE
KNOWLEDGE OR OPINIONS OF THE PUBLISHER, AND IS NOT TO BE CONSTRUED OR INTENDED
AS PROVIDING MEDICAL OR LEGAL ADVICE. THE DECISION WHETHER OR NOT TO
VACCINATE IS AN IMPORTANT AND COMPLEX ISSUE AND SHOULD BE MADE BY YOU, AND YOU
ALONE, IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR HEALTH CARE PROVIDER.