Judge Rejects Challenge to NY Schoolchildren Vaccination Law

An amended New York state law requiring vaccination of schoolchildren that repealed the law’s previous religious exemption in order to contain a measles outbreak doesn’t violate the First Amendment rights of the Amish, a federal judge said.

• Three private Amish schools and several adherents of the faith sued the state of New York and its officials, alleging in their proposed class action that the amended PHL §2164—which requires that schoolchildren be vaccinated against various contagious diseases—violated the free exercise clause of the US Constitution because it repealed only the prior version’s religious exemption while leaving in place the medical exemption ...