MADRID, 5 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) –
A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a 2021 Connecticut law that removes the state’s longstanding religious exemption from childhood immunization requirements for schools, colleges and day care centers.
The decision comes about a year and a half after a trial judge dismissed a lawsuit challenging the contentious law, sparking protests at the state Capitol, ABC News has reported.
“This decision is a complete and resounding affirmation of the constitutionality and legality of Connecticut’s vaccination requirements. Vaccines save lives: this is an indisputable fact,” Democratic Attorney General William Tong said in a statement, along which added that “the legislature acted responsibly and within its authority to protect the health of Connecticut families and stop the spread of preventable diseases.”
The plaintiffs, We the Patriots USA Inc. and others, have argued that Connecticut “violates religious liberty protections by removing the exemption” and that “the 2021 law demonstrates hostility toward religious believers and jeopardizes their rights.” rights to medical freedom and parenting.
“We fully intend to seek review of this decision in the Supreme Court of the United States, to obtain equal justice for all children, not only in Connecticut, but in every state in the nation,” explained the co-founder. and Vice President of We Patriots USA Inc., Brian Festa, in a statement.
He has said that his group, which focuses on religious and medical liberty, parental rights and other issues, “disagrees with the court’s conclusion that removing the exemption does not violate religious liberty under the First Amendment or the guarantee of equal protection under the law of the 14th Amendment”.
Connecticut law currently requires students to receive certain immunizations before enrolling in school, but allows for some medical exemptions. Students could also apply for religious exemptions before 2021, but lawmakers decided to end that after being concerned about a surge in exemption requests along with a decline in vaccination rates in some schools.
