Is it illegal to refuse to vaccinate your child? This court says yes

In the midst of a major measles epidemic in New York and other parts of the country, five unnamed mothers sued New York City to ban the municipality from requiring people to get vaccinated against measles, mumps and rubella. But a Brooklyn judge confirmed the warrant.

New York City has been facing the largest measles outbreak since 1991. According to New York Health, 359 measles cases have been reported since October. The health crisis has led New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio to declare the state of emergency earlier this month. As a result of this statement, the health commissioner asked residents of the Williamsburg area to be vaccinated against measles because many cases have occurred in this area, mainly in the Orthodox Jewish community. Under the warrant, anyone who does not receive the vaccine is fined $ 1,000.

"This is the epicenter of a measles outbreak that is very, very worrying and needs to be addressed immediately," Blasio said at a press conference in Williamsburg, at the # 39; era.

A small group of parents reacted to the warrant by suing the city on Monday, claiming that "there was not enough evidence of a measles epidemic or epidemic." "dangerous" to justify the order, and claiming that the city required them to give a vaccine to their children, which they claimed (wrongly) is harmful.

On Thursday, Justice Lawrence Knipel of Brooklyn ruled against the anti-vaxxers, rejecting the argument that the order was coercive and arbitrary.

"A firefighter does not need to get the owner's informed consent before extinguishing the fire of a house," Knipel wrote in the decision, according to Gothamist. "Vaccination is known to extinguish the fire of contagion."

As a result of this decision, the city sent three summonses to parents who had not vaccinated their children. The city's health department said its "disease detectives" had determined that these children were exposed to measles.

"Because of the long incubation period for measles, we know that this outbreak will get worse before it improves," New York health commissioner Oxiris Barbot said in a statement. "However, people who get vaccinated can turn the tide, especially before Pbadover, when families and communities come together. We urge everyone to protect their children and fellow New Yorkers by getting vaccinated immediately. "

According to ABC7, if the parents do not respond to the summons or do not appear at the hearing, they will be liable to a fine of $ 2,000.