United States: lost custody of son for not having been vaccinated | The coronavirus vaccine, as an incentive or reward

As the vaccination campaign progresses around the world, there are cases of people deciding not to get vaccinated to fight the coronavirus, this time with an unintended consequence.

US judge James Shapiro has ruled to ban a mother from seeing her eleven-year-old son because the woman refused to be vaccinated against covid-19.

According to the Cook County Magistrate, Rebecca Firlit, a 39-year-old receptionist who shares custody of her son with her seven-year-divorced husband, could not see the child again until he received one of the vaccines applied in the United States.

The woman said the decision caught her off guard, and justified her attitude having had “adverse reactions to vaccines in the past” and said her doctor “recommended against getting the vaccine” because of ” risk “represented by inoculation. .

“One of the first things (the judge) asked me when I got the Zoom call was whether or not I was vaccinated, which intrigued me because I asked what he had. to do with the hearing, ”Firlit said.

She added: “I was confused because this was supposed to be a hearing to discuss expenses and child support. I asked him what he had to do with the hearing and he said, “I am the judge and I make the decisions regarding your case.

“The court of first instance clearly overstepped its authority by suspending the mother’s parental time when the issue was child support, ”said Annette Fernholz, lawyer for Firlit.

Further, the defender said “the mother was unaware that her parenting time was being discussed when she went to court for Zoom”. He also revealed that the vaccination issue was not raised by Firlit’s ex-partner.

As to the future of the case, Fernholz said he hoped an appeals court would overturn Shapiro’s decision. For now, Firlit can only talk on the phone with her son, with whom she communicates every day. “He cries, he misses me,” said the woman.

While this is the first time a judge has taken punitive action following a person’s refusal to be vaccinated, in other cases the coronavirus vaccine has been used as an incentive or reward.

Offenders in several dozen minor criminal cases in Georgia have been offered shorter sentences in exchange for vaccinations, while other judges in New York have made vaccination a condition of signing agreements or obtaining a deposit.