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The
REVISED Authoritative Guide to
VACCINE LEGAL EXEMPTIONS
by
Alan G. Phillips, J.D.
EXCERPTS...
FOREWARD
“. . . Make no mistake--many people have
unnecessarily been
denied an exemption, because of what they 'didn't know that
they
didn't know.' The question, then, is how to maximize your chances of
exercising your exemption rights effectively with a minimum of effort."
INTRODUCTION
“. . . the legal definition of
‘religion’ under the U.S. Constitution is quite
broad—many people may qualify whose first assumption is that
they don’t. So, don’t despair if your first thought
is that you can’t possibly qualify for a religious exemption
to immunizations, as it may be that you can and do . . .”
I.
SOME IMPORTANT BACKGROUND ON THE LAW, GENERALLY
“. . . federal legislators, state legislators, and federal
and state administrative agencies enact laws and rules that are
codified as statutes and regulations, sometimes referred to as the
‘black letter law’ or ‘code.’
The code for a particular area of the law is seldom the complete law on
any given topic, though . . .”
II.
VACCINE RELIGIOUS EXEMTPIONS: FEDERAL LAW COMPONENTS
A. The U.S. Constitution
“. . . you may have
broad rights regarding the exercise of
religious exemptions to immunizations under the U.S. Constitution, but
those rights have malleable boundaries that are subject to modification
at any time, that can vary with geographic location and with local
conditions . . . and are not precisely defined for many if not most
U.S. citizens . . .
[detailed explanation of these points is provided]
. . .”
B. Federal Statutes
“. . . The Federal government has legislated vaccine
exemptions for immigrants, aliens and the military . . . Administrative
regulations spell out the details . . .”
“. . . if a qualifying employer can reasonably accommodate an
employee’s religious objections to immunizations, the
employee should be able to avoid vaccines required by the employer
[under the federal statutory law cited and discussed] . . .”
C. Federal Administrative
Law
“. . . the CDC has an explicitly international vaccination
agenda . . .”
“For Service personnel, immunization
exemptions for religious reasons may be granted according to
Service-specific policies . . . This is a command decision made with
medical and chaplain advice.”
“OSHA regulations require the
Hepatitis B vaccination
series 'be made available . . . to all employees who have
occupational exposure' . . .”
D. Federal Courts and
Federal Precedent
“. . . The federal court system includes: 1) Over 90 district
courts . . . with jurisdictions encompassing either part of a state or
an entire state or U.S. territory; 2) 11 Circuit
Courts—federal appellate courts that review rulings appealed
from the federal district courts [which] jurisdiction encompasses three
to five states and territories; and 3) The U.S. Supreme Court, which
jurisdiction encompasses the entire United States . . .”
“. . . some court opinions have little or no
precedential
value outside of the jurisdiction in which they are issued. This
distinction can be critical to vaccine religious exemptions, as
explained further below . . .”
[A
summary of recent decades' federal
court rulings on vaccine religious exemptions is provided,
and their application as
legal precedent explained.]
III.
RELIGIOUS EXEMPTIONS: STATE LAW COMPONENTS
A. State Constitutional Law
“. . . All persons have a natural and inalienable right
to worship Almighty God according to the dictates of their own
consciences, and no human authority shall, in any case whatever,
control or interfere with the rights of conscience.”
[One state constitution's clause on religious liberty; its application to
exemptions is discussed.]
B. State Statutes
“.
. . the state could make an
inquiry into the nature and sincerity of the belief(s)—and
uphold or deny the exemption accordingly . . .” [some states can, some can't; the reason why is explained...]
“.
. . be extremely wary of any 'one size fits all' advice . . .”
[since every state has its own laws for people within its borders...]
C. State Administrative Law
“. . . This
[particular situation] is surely
a prescription
for confusion for anyone reading the [state agency's] website for
information about how
to exercise a religious exemption . . .” [what to do about it is discussed]
“. . . States’ administrative regulations provide
many of
the rules and details pertaining to the implementation and enforcement
of statutory immunization requirements, including exemptions . .
.”
D. State Courts and State
Precedent
“. . . each state has an appellate court or courts that issue
published opinions serving as binding legal precedent for the lower
courts in that state. . .”
[A
summary of recent decades' state appellate
court opinions on vaccine religious and medical exemptions are cited, and their application as legal
precedent explained.]
IV.
REFUSAL TO VACCINATE FORMS
“.Therefore,
a doctor's asking asking an exempt parent to agree to such a statement
amounts to a misplaced attempt to reopen a previously resolved
legislative matter . .
.”
V.
VACCINE CUSTODY DISPUTES
“Considering
that all but two states have enacted philosophical and/or religious
exemptions, state legislatures have overwhelmingly agreed that
exercising an exemption does not pose a significant health risk.”
“The U.S.
Supreme Court has held . . . that the 'loss of First Amendment
Freedoms, for even minimal periods of time, unquestionably constitutes
irreparable injury.”
VI.
PRIVATE SCHOOLS AND DAYCARES
“. . .
confusion as to whether or not private schools and daycares have to
honor religious exemptions. The answer may vary . . . depend[ing] on
the language of individual state laws. Two examples follow to
illustrate this point.”
IX. DO YOU NEED AN ATTORNEY?
“.
. . the boundaries of many U.S. citizens’ rights
to declare a vaccine religious exemption are technically unsettled and
composed of legal arguments rather than clearly settled law . .
.”
“. . . many of the factors in your assessment really
can’t be quantified, including the likelihood that a local
official may be unwilling to hear your opinion about your rights,
however legally correct and properly presented your claim may be . .
.”
“. . . Following is a list of situations in which you really
should
consult an attorney [and why] . . ."
X.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Sample Question: "Can I join a church to qualify for a religious
exemption?
As a practical matter, if it works, then the answer is "yes." As a
legal matter, this doesn't work, as doing so may reasonably be
interpreted as an indication that your objection to imunizations is not
rooted in sincere, deeply held religious beliefes--that the religious
is a "cover" for non-religious concerns--and leave your exemption claim
vulnerable to a challenge accordingly. One federal district court case
denied parents a religious exemption due to testimony that showed
the parents had avoided vaccines for non-religious reasons, including
joining a church for the purpose of claiming a religious exemption. So,
this is a risky propostion."
XII.
LEGAL RESOURCES FOR THE NON-ATTORNEY
“.
. . it’s not just a question of whether or not
the language of a statute or regulation is unambiguous, it’s
that courts sometimes interpret code in ways that renders the code read
alone incomplete or even misleading . . .”
[Websites, professional online legal services, and other
information links and resources are provided.]
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