Catholic Mom Sues City....

[Marnica]

http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130214/west-brighton/catholic-mom-sues-city-send-daughter-school-without-vaccinations

Quote:

In their denial, school officials said she did not substantiate that she holds a “genuine and sincere religious beliefs which are contrary to immunization.”
 

This infuriates me. Who is anyone to define someone's else's personally held beliefs in God? So some snot nosed school official who very well may be provax and have an agenda gets to decide if someone's beliefs are genuine and sincere? That is such a load of CRAP.     (let me tell you how I really feel!) 

I hope this woman wins her case. The fact that this is even an issue is disturbing. 

[glassesgirlnj]

Who is anyone to define someone's else's personally held beliefs in God?

Hm. I have my reservations about some vaccines (especially the chicken pox vaccine and the flu vaccine)... and the schedule on which they're given today.

That being said, are you a Roman Catholic yourself? Are you familiar with how the Roman Catholic Church works? (If not, let's just say they are EXTREMELY top-down... and a Roman Catholic is going to have a *very* difficult time justifying a religious exemption, especially in a part of the country with a lot of Catholic schools such as NY state.)

I'm sympathetic to the cause, but I think the lawyers involved would have an easier time with a client of almost any other religious background. Sorry!

[IdentityCrisisMama]

I agree, Marnica. As an atheist, I support a philosophical exemption in every state. I resent the implication that one has to define their beliefs as "religious" to have them protected in this way. The definition of religion is vague enough to me that I feel like most could make a good case for any philosophy being a religion - but I don't think they should have to. I'm sure lots of people disagree with me on that one though. 

Seems this woman made a big error in claiming medical and then being too descriptive in her religious explanation (in MD it's just a box, no questions or comments).  Not to blame her but it seems like that was part of her issue. 

[aggie pop]

Originally Posted by IdentityCrisisMama 

The definition of religion is vague enough to me that I feel like most could make a good case for any philosophy being a religion - but I don't think they should have to. I'm sure lots of people disagree with me on that one though. 

In New York it's worded as "personal religious beliefs", which to me means "personal philosophy", but I get what you're saying.  Religious implies god and I also have a problem with that.

[glassesgirlnj]

Yeah, I think this woman's (and her legal team's) issue is that she says her religious beliefs are against vaccination, AND she identifies as a devout Roman Catholic.

Don't get me wrong, Catholics definitely can disagree on things (if you're feeling little-t trollish, go onto a Catholic forum and start a "Mass in English" vs. "Mass in Latin" debate sometime). 

But for better or for worse, the local diocese, and the archbishop in charge of it, gets the final word. That's just how the Church works.  Don't like it, there's the door. 

So, it doesn't look too good for this woman when she's saying "I can't have my kids vaccinated because I'm Catholic", and there's an entire huge diocese, with many Catholic schools in it, right next to her, saying, "Um, that's actually not so..." 

ETA: Oh look! Here's FidelisCare, the NY State Catholic health plan, "urging parents to ensure that their children's vaccinations are up-to-date", as of April 2012... http://www.fideliscare.org/news/index.aspx?view=art&cid=0&aid=3363&parent=3363

Edited by glassesgirlnj - 2/17/13 at 7:40am