Vaccines Mandates and Religion: Where are We Headed with the Current Supreme Court?

This article argues that the Supreme Court should not require a religious exemption from vaccine mandates. For children, who cannot yet make autonomous religious decision, religious exemptions would allow parents to make a choice that puts the child at risk and makes the shared environment of the sc...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of law, medicine & ethics medicine & ethics, 2021-01, Vol.49 (4), p.552-563
Main Author: Reiss, Dorit R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adult
Adults
At risk youth
Child
Children
Children & youth
Childrens rights
Coronaviruses
COVID-19 vaccines
Disease
First Amendment-US
Freedom of religion
Humans
Immunization
Jurisprudence
Pandemics
Parents
Public health
Religion
Religious exemptions
Schools
Supreme Court decisions
Supreme courts
Vaccination
Vaccines
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Description
Summary:This article argues that the Supreme Court should not require a religious exemption from vaccine mandates. For children, who cannot yet make autonomous religious decision, religious exemptions would allow parents to make a choice that puts the child at risk and makes the shared environment of the school unsafe - risking other people's children. For adults, there are still good reasons not to require a religious exemption, since vaccines mandates are adopted for public health reasons, not to target religion, are an area where free riding is a real risk, no religion actually prohibits vaccinating under a mandate, and policing religious exemptions is very difficult.
ISSN:1073-1105
1748-720X
DOI:10.1017/jme.2021.79