{"id":631250,"date":"2026-07-07T02:15:34","date_gmt":"2026-07-07T02:15:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=631250"},"modified":"2026-07-07T02:15:34","modified_gmt":"2026-07-07T02:15:34","slug":"federal-court-rules-against-amish-families-in-religious-exemption-case-will-supreme-court-have-the-last-word-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/?p=631250","title":{"rendered":"Federal Court Rules Against Amish Families in Religious Exemption Case \u2014 Will Supreme Court Have the Last Word?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Last week\u2019s ruling against a group of Amish parents who sought religious exemptions may \u201cset the stage for a Supreme Court battle over vaccine mandates,\u201d The Washington Post reported. A Supreme Court ruling \u201cwould be binding nationwide and thereby eliminate state action to remove religious exemptions,\u201d said Leslie Manookian, president and founder of the Health Freedom Defense Fund.
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A federal court last week ruled against a group of\u00a0Amish parents who sought religious exemptions<\/a>\u00a0from school vaccination requirements for their children \u2014 a ruling that legal experts suggest may lead to a U.S. Supreme Court showdown that could determine the future of religious exemptions nationwide.<\/p>\n

In its\u00a0ruling<\/a>\u00a0in Miller v. McDonald, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said New York State\u2019s law eliminating religious exemptions from school\u00a0vaccination<\/a>\u00a0requirements is \u201cneutral and generally applicable,\u201d doesn\u2019t discriminate against specific religious practices and furthers the state\u2019s interest in protecting the public from disease.<\/p>\n

The plaintiffs, a group of parents and representatives of Amish schools in New York,\u00a0sued<\/a>\u00a0New York\u2019s Department of Health and Department of Education in 2023, alleging the state\u2019s law barring religious exemptions violates the U.S. Constitution\u2019s Free Exercise Clause under the\u00a0First<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a014th Amendments<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The parents face\u00a0$118,000 in fines<\/a>\u00a0for noncompliance with the state\u2019s vaccination requirements.<\/p>\n

Last week\u2019s decision was the second time the 2nd Circuit ruled against the plaintiffs. The same court previously\u00a0dismissed the suit<\/a>\u00a0in 2024, upholding a decision by another federal court earlier that year.<\/p>\n

In December 2025, the Supreme Court sent the case back to the 2nd Circuit, asking it to review constitutional questions arising out of a separate ruling,\u00a0Mahmoud v. Taylor<\/a>, in 2024. In that case, the Supreme Court found that parents have the right to request an exemption for their children from LGBTQ curriculum on religious grounds.<\/p>\n

According to\u00a0The Washington Post<\/a>, last week\u2019s ruling in Miller v. McDonald may \u201cset the stage for a potential Supreme Court battle over vaccine mandates,\u201d citing legal experts who suggested the court is likely to accept the case for review on constitutional grounds and in light of the Mahmoud v. Taylor decision.<\/p>\n

Lawrence Gostin<\/a>, a Georgetown University professor of health law and an outspoken vaccine proponent, told the Post he expects the Supreme Court to \u201creverse the appellate court\u2019s decision\u201d if it chooses to review the case.<\/p>\n

A review could result in a ruling that would \u201callow religious vaccine exemptions nationwide,\u201d the Post reported.<\/p>\n

The Post reported<\/a>\u00a0last month that the Supreme Court has signaled that it \u201cmay be open to a constitutional claim based on the lack of a religious exemption for vaccine mandates in New York.\u201d<\/p>\n

A Supreme Court ruling in favor of the Amish plaintiffs would be \u201cthe anti-vaccine movement\u2019s biggest win,\u201d the Post wrote.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look forward to vindicating the\u00a0rights of the Amish at the Supreme Court<\/a>\u00a0so that they can live in peace and without religious persecution,\u201d Aaron Siri, an attorney for the\u00a0Informed Consent Action Network<\/a>\u00a0(ICAN) and one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs, told the Post last week.<\/p>\n

Legal experts: 2nd Circuit \u2018erred\u2019 in its ruling<\/strong><\/p>\n

When\u00a0New York repealed religious exemptions<\/a>\u00a0in 2019, state health officials cited a\u00a0measles outbreak<\/a>\u00a0in 2018-2019 among students in an Orthodox Jewish community in Rockland County as a key reason for eliminating exemptions.<\/p>\n

Today, New York is one of\u00a0four U.S. states<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 the others being California, Connecticut and Maine \u2014 that do not recognize religious vaccine exemptions. In\u00a0West Virginia<\/a>, the issue is the subject of ongoing litigation and political debate.<\/p>\n

Other states, including\u00a0Massachusetts<\/a>, are considering legislation to end religious vaccination exemptions.<\/p>\n

Last year, the\u00a0American Academy of Pediatrics<\/a>\u00a0(AAP), the largest pediatric trade group in the U.S., called for an end to religious exemptions.<\/p>\n

In upholding New York\u2019s law, the\u00a02nd Circuit said<\/a>\u00a0that religious exemptions are \u201cmeaningfully different\u201d from medical exemptions, which state law still recognizes.<\/p>\n

The court said medical exemptions are granted only with \u201csufficient\u201d documentation about the child\u2019s medical condition and are limited to specific vaccines. Religious exemptions apply to all vaccinations that schoolchildren are otherwise required to receive.<\/p>\n

Greg Glaser<\/a>, general counsel for\u00a0Physicians for Informed Consent<\/a>, a medical group that filed an\u00a0amicus brief<\/a>\u00a0with the Supreme Court in support of the plaintiffs in Miller v. McDonald, said the 2nd Circuit \u201cerred\u201d in its ruling.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe State of New York actively favors secular exemptions (medical) while concurrently prohibiting religious exemptions. This unequal treatment directly violates the\u00a0Equal Protection Clause<\/a>,\u201d Glaser said.<\/p>\n

Michael Kane, director of advocacy for\u00a0Children\u2019s Health Defense<\/a>\u00a0(CHD), said the Supreme Court called on the 2nd Circuit to review its previous ruling in Miller v. McDonald in the context of the Mahmoud v. Taylor decision \u2014 yet the 2nd Circuit largely sidestepped that ruling in its decision last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cI find it very unlikely that the Supreme Court is going to allow that to be the final word,\u201d Kane said.<\/p>\n

\u2018A win for the Amish is likely to be a win for all\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Post reported last month that Miller v. McDonald and other cases challenging efforts to ban religious exemptions in California and West Virginia could result in a \u201cnational legal win<\/a>\u201d for opponents of\u00a0vaccine mandates<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf the court does rule in favor of religious exemptions to vaccines, unless there is some caveat to the ruling, a Supreme Court ruling would be binding nationwide and thereby eliminate state action to remove religious exemptions,\u201d said Leslie Manookian, president and founder of the\u00a0Health Freedom Defense Fund<\/a>.<\/p>\n

One caveat, according to Kane, would be whether the Supreme Court issues a ruling that is applicable only to specific groups, like the Amish, instead of having broader applicability.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can\u2019t rule in favor of one religious group to have the right to an exemption but then declare another religious group does not share that same right,\u201d Kane said. \u201cThere is a chance the court could rule narrowly on the specifics of this case, but that will be hard in my view. A win for the Amish is likely to be a win for all.\u201d<\/p>\n

Another caveat, according to Manookian, is the Supreme Court\u2019s willingness to take on a case involving vaccination.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would hope that case ends up at the Supreme Court, but find it difficult to predict what the court will do as it seems committed to\u00a0avoiding the vaccine issue<\/a>,\u201d Manookian said.<\/p>\n

The cases come at a time when religious exemptions have become a contentious issue in several states and have resulted in conflicting court rulings \u2014 a situation Glaser said is confusing for many parents.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Miller case highlights a chaotic legal landscape where lawyers and families face direct legislative confusion,\u201d Glaser said. \u201cLower courts will continue splitting over the Equal Protection Clause until the Supreme Court provides the explicit clarity required.\u201d<\/p>\n

Public support for religious exemptions growing<\/strong><\/p>\n

Last month,\u00a0the Post cited efforts by CHD and ICAN<\/a>, who have filed several legal challenges opposing efforts to curtail religious exemptions.<\/p>\n

Siri represents plaintiffs challenging West Virginia\u2019s efforts to maintain a ban on religious exemptions in an ongoing case pitting the state\u2019s education authorities against state Gov. Patrick Morrisey, who last year issued an\u00a0executive order<\/a>\u00a0recognizing religious and philosophical exemptions.<\/p>\n

That case, now\u00a0pending before the Supreme Court of West Virginia<\/a>, \u201ccould be a contender for Supreme Court review,\u201d the Post reported.<\/p>\n

In May,\u00a0CHD filed an amicus brief<\/a>, urging\u00a0West Virginia\u2019s Supreme Court<\/a>\u00a0to scrutinize submissions from groups including the AAP and the\u00a0Infectious Diseases Society of America<\/a>, which filed briefs backing West Virginia\u2019s vaccine mandate policies.<\/p>\n

Siri told the Post in a statement last month that the goal of these cases is to bring the \u201cfive outlier states in alignment with the other forty-five in respecting religious liberty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Members of Congress<\/a>\u00a0have also entered the debate. Earlier this year,\u00a0federal lawmakers urged<\/a>\u00a0the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate New York, California, Maine and Connecticut over their refusal to allow religious exemptions for school vaccine mandates.<\/p>\n

The right to informed consent is at stake, Glaser said.<\/p>\n

\u201cInformed consent and informed refusal are the bedrock of medical ethics,\u201d Glaser said. \u201cBanning religious exemptions effectively legalizes medical bullying by proxy, forcing families to forfeit their children\u2019s education if they choose to exercise informed refusal.\u201d<\/p>\n

A 2025 survey showed that\u00a0public support for religious exemptions<\/a>\u00a0in the U.S. nearly doubled compared to 2019.<\/p>\n

Michael Nevradakis, Ph.D., based in Athens, Greece, is a senior reporter for The Defender and host of “The Defender In-Depth” on CHD.TV.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Last week\u2019s ruling against a group of Amish parents who sought religious exemptions may \u201cset the stage for a Supreme Court battle over vaccine mandates,\u201d The Washington Post reported. A Supreme Court ruling \u201cwould be binding nationwide and thereby eliminate state action to remove religious exemptions,\u201d said Leslie Manookian, president and founder of the Health… Continue reading Federal Court Rules Against Amish Families in Religious Exemption Case \u2014 Will Supreme Court Have the Last Word?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":631235,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[20,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-631250","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economic-empowerment","category-national-security","entry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631250","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=631250"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/631250\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/631235"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=631250"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=631250"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/buglecall.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=631250"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}