SCOTUS declines to block Ventura schools from enforcing CA vax rules

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The U.S. Supreme Court has turned down a request to bar enforcement of California’s school vaccination rules against a Ventura County plaintiff while a legal dispute over religious exemptions to the regulations plays out.

The high court decided on Oct. 17 to turn down a petition from the advocacy group We the Patriots USA Inc. and plaintiff Jane Doe, the parent of a ninth-grade student in the Ventura County Unified School District. The parties sought to block enforcement of California’s school vaccine regulations for Doe and other We the Patriots members in similar situations while litigation in the case continues.

“The application for a writ of injunction presented to Justice (Elena) Kagan and by her referred to the court is denied,” the Supreme Court’s order states.

The original federal lawsuit was filed in the Central District of California in May on behalf of Doe’s son, who was barred from attending a public high school because his parents did not provide adequate proof that he had received childhood vaccinations. Immunizing the teen based on provisions of the California law would have violated Doe’s religious convictions, according to the lawsuit.

School district officials have disputed statements in the lawsuit, including an allegation that Jane Doe and her husband were “threatened with criminal charges for truancy” if they did not agree with the defendants’ vaccine demands.

According to the plaintiffs’ application for a restraining order, Doe views the idea of getting California’s mandated vaccinations as sinful because they are “tested, developed and produced using cell lines artificially derived from aborted fetuses.” She and her son have a duty to keep their bodies pure, and receiving such a vaccine would “pollute their bodies,” the application says.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), however, states the vaccines do not contain fetal cells, though some vaccines were developed by growing viruses in cell cultures originating from two aborted fetuses in the 1960s. New aborted fetuses are never needed for this process, the AAP states.

Doe did offer records that her son received homeoprophylaxis doses, which are homeopathic treatments. But the defendants did not accept the proof of alternative immunization.

“Ventura Unified School District appreciates the court’s careful consideration of this matter,” a district statement emailed to the Southern California Record says. “As a public school district, we are required to follow all laws and regulations established by the state of California, including vaccine requirements for students. California law (Health and Safety Code sections 120325 to 120375) requires students to be immunized to attend public and private schools, as well as pre-kindergarten facilities.”

School districts are mandated to enforce such laws, according to the school district, which added that the underlying lawsuit remains pending and that it could not comment further on an active legal case.

We the Patriots downplayed the Supreme Court’s decision, saying that the court did not rule against the plaintiffs but simply opted not to consider the issue of whether an injunction could be granted so that the high school student could return to classes pending the outcome of the litigation.

“While we are certainly disappointed that this relief was not granted, the lawsuit is very much alive, and proceedings will continue at the district court and the Ninth Circuit,” the advocacy group said in its statement. “Should the Ninth Circuit ultimately rule against us on the merits, we will be able to apply for U.S. Supreme Court review again at that point.”