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:	eng
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
Online Access:	Get full text
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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