In a crushing blow to religious liberty, a federal appeals court has upheld New York’s controversial vaccine mandate that forces Amish children to receive vaccinations despite sincere religious objections from their communities.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled on March 3 in the case of Miller v. McDonald that New York’s elimination of religious exemptions for vaccines does not violate First Amendment protections, according to a report.
The contentious policy, enacted in 2019 following a measles outbreak, requires all children to be vaccinated to attend any school–whether public, private, or religious–unless they qualify for a medical exemption.
This mandate has placed Amish communities in an impossible position: violate their deeply-held religious beliefs or forfeit their children’s education at their own private schools.
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The legal challenge began after three Amish schools –Dygert Road School, Pleasant View School (also known as Twin Mountain School), and Shady Lane School–faced financial penalties for refusing to comply with the law by not requiring parents to provide proof of student vaccinations.
Catholic Vote reported that in June 2023, the schools, joined by two school board members (Jonas Smucker and Joe Miller) and an elected representative for Amish schools in New York (Ezra Wengerd), filed a lawsuit seeking an injunction.
They argued that the state’s vaccination requirement violated their constitutional rights under both the First and 14th Amendments.
The initial legal effort failed when U.S. District Court Chief Judge Elizabeth A. Wolford granted the state’s motion to dismiss the case, ruling that the plaintiffs had “failed to allege a constitutional violation.”
Undeterred, the Amish plaintiffs appealed to the federal court.
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In their appeal, the Amish community pointed to the landmark 1972 Supreme Court case Wisconsin v. Yoder, which affirmed their right to pull children from formal schooling after eighth grade based on religious beliefs.
The federal court, however, rejected this comparison, determining that immunization requirements do not “fundamentally alter the Amish way of life” in the same way that extended compulsory education would.
The judges further ruled that since the removal of religious exemptions applies equally to all children in New York, it constitutes a “neutral law” that does not specifically target religious groups.
For the Amish, who have historically resisted government-mandated medical interventions as part of their faith tradition, this ruling creates an untenable situation.
Reports outlined by Catholic Vote indicate that Amish schools and families have already accumulated approximately $118,000 in fines for refusing to comply with the mandate.
The Amish community’s appeal had garnered significant support from officials across the nation.
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Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall, joined by 19 other states, filed a legal brief in May 2024 supporting the Amish position and arguing that New York’s actions amount to religious harassment.
“New York has so little regard for religion that it will seek out, harass, and threaten Amish communities that want only to live out their faith amongst themselves,” Marshall said.
“Parents should not be forced to choose between their children’s schooling and their fundamental rights.”
