Unvaccinated student with bogus religious exemption loses in court Catholic student claims religious objections, but the Catholic Church is pro-vaccines. A Kentucky judge has ruled against an unvaccinated, Catholic high school student who sued his local health department for banning unvaccinated students from school and extracurricular activities amid a chickenpox outbreak. On April 2, Judge James Schrand of Boone County Court denied the request for a preliminary injunction that would allow the student, 18-year-old Jerome Kunkel, to return to classes and activities at Our Lady of Assumption Academy in Walton, Kentucky. In denying the request, Judge Schrand sided with Northern Kentucky Health Department, which argued that it had lawfully done what it deemed necessary to curb the spread of a dangerous infectious disease. The outbreak sickened at least 32 in the Assumption’s community and had the potential to spread further. Of Assumption’s 240 students, only 18 percent have received all of their vaccinations, according to the school’s registrar. In his lawsuit, Kunkel, a senior and “important player” in the boys’ basketball team at the school, said he opposes vaccination on religious grounds and argued in court that the ban violated his Constitutional rights. In an interview with The Washington Post, Kunkel’s father, Bill, called the health department’s actions “ tyranny against our religion, our faith, our country.” The court disagrees—as does his own religion. The crux of the Kunkel’s argument against vaccination is that the chickenpox vaccine is “derived from aborted fetal cells,” and the Catholic church generally opposes abortion. There is some truth in their objection. Both types of chickenpox vaccines available (brand names Varivax and ProQuad) use a weakened form of the virus that is propagated in a lineage of cells dubbed MRC-5. That cell line was developed from the lung tissue of a 14-week-old fetus, aborted for “psychiatric reasons” in 1966. Both forms of the vaccine may contain “residual components of MRC-5 cells including DNA and protein,” according to manufacturers. From that, the Kunkels concluded that the vaccine is immoral and should be rejected absolutely. But the Catholic church disagrees, taking a more nuanced stance. In a 2005 statement on the matter, the Vatican noted its ethical objection to the manufacturing methods of such vaccines and encouraged the use of alternatives when possible. But in the end, the church came to the practical judgement that when no alternatives are available, such vaccines are acceptable and necessary to “avoid a serious risk not only for one's own children but also, and perhaps more specifically, for the health conditions of the population as a whole—especially for pregnant women.” The argument would seem to be further bolstered by the fact the chickenpox can cause severe birth defects and, if it strikes late in a pregnancy, can cause life-threatening infections in newborns. The National Catholic Bioethics Center spells out the church’s position further, concluding: “There would seem to be no proper grounds for refusing immunization against dangerous contagious disease, for example, rubella, especially in light of the concern that we should all have for the health of our children, public health, and the common good.” When confronted with the church’s stance in an interview with the Post, Bill Kunkel gave a confusing response: “That doesn’t mean nothing to me," he said. "I follow the laws of the Church, and I know what’s right and wrong.” Kunkel added that abortion is a moral absolute. Judge Schrand stated in his ruling that Kunkel’s case is not likely to prevail, citing legal precedents for the health department's actions
I mean, it seems that most of these morons are uneducated when it comes their children's well-being and choose to be uneducated when it comes to their future well fair. It doesn't upset me when some of their children end up with diseases that could be prevented by vaccinations. I'm glad that people are being called out and hopefully punished for it. There won't be official punishment, though, until the government gets officially involved.
It should still upset you. Not those kids' fault their parents are willfully ignorant, child-endangering pieces of shit.
Friend got this letter in the mail today about a neighbor...sporadic reports of them coming in over the last week around the country. I enjoy this new offensive
This also reminds me of the P&R episode where Tom tries to make Facebook on a cork board for some reason.
New York City Orders Mandatory Measles Vaccinations in Parts of Brooklyn Order also imposes fines for calls for noncompliance By Melanie Gracye West Updated April 9, 2019 12:01 p.m. ET Breaking News... New York City officials declared a public health emergency Tuesday in parts of Brooklyn in response to a measles outbreak in the Orthodox Jewish community, calling for mandatory measles-mumps-rubella vaccinations in certain ZIP Codes and imposing fines for noncompliance. The move—the first time the city has required mandatory vaccinations—is aimed at stemming a sharp jump in the number of measles cases tied to an outbreak among Orthodox Jews in New York City that began last fall. Public health officials said they were taking the unusual step in response to an antivaccination campaign that has included measles parties, phone calls and voice mails targeting the community with “intentional efforts to give misinformation,” said Herminia Palacio, New York City’s deputy mayor for Health and Human Services. “There are frank untruths being propagated,” said Dr. Palacio. (More to Come) —Katie Honan contributed to this article.
That will be interesting to see if that community resists. A few of them were mentioned on NPR's 1A a couple of weeks ago and had the typical BS anti-vax reasoning about vaccines being linked to autism and not necessary to fight off disease.
Fuck your religion. Children and diseases are real so shut the fuck up and get your kid it’s shots you dense shithead.
I have a deep hatred for anti-vaxxers. I truly despise them because they think they are smarter than science because they saw some shit on Facebook.
I SHOULD BE ABLE TO BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS OF YOUNG CHILDREN. ITS UNETHICAL TO BAN MY RIGHT TO MURDER CHILDREN
Stop sticking a microphone in these idiots faces. The louder they yell the more stupid people hear them.
Yes, the procedure is minimally painful. Your doctor can do it. He takes a small amount of inorganic colloidal silver in a 0.5 mL syringe and injects it in to your child to reverse the effects. You do have to repeat the process before kindergarten and middle school but it’s worth it!
Pour shit down a nasogastric tube into the intestines to replace normal gut microbes. Works well for chronic infections with nasty bugs like CDiff
I’d like to become the spokesperson for how well this works just so those kids will get vaccinated in the first place. Assuming it’s a joke post by the author, but it’s hard to assume anything on this topic.