In June of 2019, my children lost their religious exemptions to vaccinations in New York state. This happened with the bill going from start to finish in one day(1), through a Democrat heavy health committee, full Assembly, full Senate, and finally landing on the Governor’s desk for signature by the evening. It was an emotional day for our family because everything that we knew as routine and normal was about to change.
After the bill was signed into law, a flurry of legal activity began. Children’s Health Defense filed a federal lawsuit stating that the removal of the religious exemption went directly against our first amendment rights as stated in the New York State Constitution. The federal preliminary injunction hearing was held in August 2019 in Albany, NY. Many medical freedom advocates attended from all over the state. Sadly, the judge ruled against the injunction, and later the case was dismissed.(2)
Almost immediately after the Children’s Health Defense decision, a live video came across my feed about Jim Mermigis and Kevin Barry, two freedom-fighting attorneys who were going to challenge the law to remove religious exemptions. The State of New York has religious freedoms written into the state’s Constitutional framework. Jim and Kevin decided to take on this legal challenge.
I attended the preliminary injunction hearing in Steuben County, NY. There was so much hope that day; advocates wore white and prayed for a win. Jim and Kevin came outside to address the large crowd after the hearing and the report was positive. On October 12, 2019, we heard from the judge on the injunction decision. He was harsh on the legislature in his remarks regarding removal of the religious exemption for K-12 schools, but ultimately said
no to the injunction.(3) In a live video after the decision, lead attorney Jim Mermigis exclaimed, “Cuomo’s people got to the judge”.
Jim and Kevin have kept their followers updated about the New York case, which at this time is still on hold. However, the push to take away vaccine exemptions has continued in other states, including Connecticut. Unfortunately, after a tough fight by medical freedom advocates, the bill to remove religious exemption in Connecticut became law on April 27, 2021.(4) Prior the voting on the bill, there was a hearing that went on for 24 hours; hundreds of families spoke, begging and pleading with the legislature to leave their exemptions alone. I personally had a chance to give testimony at 2:30am, and I shared the experience our family had gone through in New York and explained that months later we were still dealing with the fallout of losing our exemption – financially, emotionally, academically, and socially.
The case has an enormous potential for success given that Connecticut has the religious freedom restoration act in place, and this law is likely in violation of this statute.
After Connecticut lost its religious exemption, Jim and Kevin along with their teams got to work with attorney Lindy Urso. They have been tirelessly planning a case to challenge this new law, and so far it has not been dismissed. The case has an enormous potential for success given that Connecticut has the religious freedom restoration act in place, and this law is likely in violation of this statute.The preliminary injunction and trial will be happening in the very near future, and the entire childhood vaccine schedule required to attend K-12 school will be going on trial. The judges’ decision to deny the motion to dismiss can be read here.
For additional information on the case, listen to the following update from Children’s Health Defense (CHD) featuring attorney Kevin Barry and LeeAnn Ducat, founder of Informed Choice Connecticut via CHD TV.
In addition, the team working on this case would like to reach out to all the medical freedom groups throughout the country to share how important this case is for all states – not just Connecticut. The legal costs associated with the case could get as high as $250,000, so any and all donations are appreciated. Please go to the following link for details on how to donate: donorbox.org/restore-religious-liberty-in-connecticut.
With the recent ACIP decision to add the COVID-19 vaccine to the CDC recommended childhood schedule, all medical freedom advocates should be doing whatever we can to protect exemptions. The decisions made by these regulatory agencies are not made with
our children’s health in mind. It is our job as parents and medical freedom advocates to maintain our rights and our families’ health.
Cathi Burys
Mom, wife, nurse practitioner, medical freedom advocate, vaccine injured
Sources
1 https://www.nysenate.gov/legislation/bills/2019/A2371
2 https://www.natlawreview.com/article/new-york-court-upholds-law-eliminating-religiousexemption-mandatory-vaccinations
3 https://www.albanyupdate.com/judge-lambastes-legislature-but-upholds-new-vaccination-law/
4 https://www.foxnews.com/us/connecticut-ends-religious-vaccine-exemption