22 March 28 • 2019
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RONELLE GRIER CONTRIBUTING WRITER
jews d
in
the
Challenging
Vaccines
Two local lawsuits ruled
in favor of schools, not
parents of unvaccinated children.
A
pair of lawsuits filed
in 2015
against Temple Israel and Hillel
Day School, requiring them to
accept unvaccinated children into their
programs, highlights a fault line between
religious institutions attempting to pro-
tect their communities from infectious
diseases and those who choose not to
vaccinate their children for philosophi-
cal or religious reasons.
Hillel was successful in defending a
case brought by two families against the
school, resulting in one family with-
drawing their children and the other
having their son vaccinated.
Ruvayn and Sara Rubinstein, whose
children attended Temple Israel’
s Early
Childhood Center preschool program
the previous year, sued the school in
2015 because it would no longer recog-
nize non-medical waivers. The case was
heard by Oakland County Circuit Court
Judge Shalina Kumar and then moved to
federal court in the U.S. Eastern District.
There, Judge John Corbett O’
Meara
dismissed the Rubinsteins’
constitutional
claims that their religious rights were
being violated because Temple Israel
was not a governmental body.
The case was sent back to Oakland
County Circuit Court, where Judge
Kumar granted Temple Israel’
s motion
for summary disposition based on the
“ecclesiastical abstention doctrine,
”
which allows a secular court to refuse to
address disputes involving religious mat-
ters. Rubinstein’
s attorney, Michael Ross,
appealed the decision, but the Court
of Appeals returned the case to Judge
Kumar to review in light of recent case
law changes.
On Sept. 10, 2018, Judge Kumar
dismissed the case again. Her written
opinion stated that, because both parties
were basing their claims on religious
reasons, ruling on the case would
require the court to resolve ecclesiastical
questions, which it is not in a position to
do. No further appeal is planned.
These lawsuits provide context as
the recent national upsurge in reported
cases of measles, including the outbreak
this month in Oakland County and
within its Jewish community, is sparking
heated discussions about mandatory
vaccinations and the use of non-medical
waivers.
Last week, the Council of Orthodox
Rabbis of Greater Detroit issued the fol-
lowing statement:
“In light of the recent spread of measles
in our community, each and every indi-
vidual is halachically obligated to take the
necessary precautions to protect one’
s self
and family, and to prevent the spread of
the disease to others.
“Due to the outbreak, the Michigan
Department of Health has issued updated
vaccination guidelines. Every member of
the community should follow those guide-
lines to ensure they are fully vaccinated.
”
The statement also said Halachah
(Jewish law) permits institutions such
as schools, day care facilities and camps
to exclude unvaccinated people for the
health protection of others. It also states
Jewish institutions should only accept
valid medical exemptions granted by
physicians supportive of vaccinations.
Measles, a disease largely eradicat-
ed in the U.S. by 2000, re-emerged as
a public health threat in 2015, which
ramped up last year when the number
of cases tripled, from 120 reported cases
in 2017 to 372 cases in 2018. At press
time, 314 measles cases have been con-
firmed in 15 states, including Michigan.
The increase in outbreaks
has prompted the World Health
Organization to include “vaccine hesi-
tancy,
” the refusal to immunize against
vaccine-preventable diseases, among its
top 10 global health threats in 2019.
The Centers for Disease Control says
infected visitors from other countries
caused the disease to become active
again. By 2014, the number of measles
cases soared to a record high of 667,
prompting private schools and religious
institutions nationally to review and
tighten vaccination policies. This result-
ed in a decline in measles outbreaks,
with 188 cases in 2015 and 86 in 2016.
VACCINATION AND THE LAW
The Michigan public health code
requires children to be vaccinated to
attend school, public or private, licensed
day care centers and preschools.
Children who cannot be vaccinated
because of a medical reason, such as an
allergy, are exempted if they have a phy-
sician-issued medical waiver.
Without a medical waiver, parents
who choose not to vaccinate their
children must obtain a waiver from
their county health department. While
all states accept medical waivers and
most (47) allow religious exceptions,
Michigan is one of 17 states that allows
exemptions for philosophical reasons.
Parents are required to watch a short
video and receive information about the
risks of not vaccinating before the waiv-
er will be granted.
In 2015, when measles cases spiked,
local religious institutions changed their
policies to accept unvaccinated children
with medical waivers only. Those with
waivers based on religious or philo-
sophical reasons were not permitted to
attend, which prompted the lawsuits
against Hillel and Temple Israel.
“In 2015, fewer people were getting
vaccinated; it was becoming a dan-
ger,
” said Hillel Head of School Steve
Freedman. “Hundreds of schools revis-
ited their policies and we were among
them. We worked with the parents; we
didn’
t expect (unvaccinated) children to
get 15 shots at once.
”
Representing Temple Israel, attorney
David Sims presented evidence showing
how Jewish law supports mandatory
vaccination. The school’
s defense includ-
ed a ruling by the Union for Reform
Judaism as well as relevant tenets from
the Torah and the Talmud.
“The Reform movement had issued
a religious ruling supporting univer-
sal vaccination, and we felt bound to
uphold that,
” said Temple Israel Rabbi
Paul Yedwab, who wrote an affidavit
citing Jewish principles applicable to the
exclusion of voluntarily unvaccinated
children. These included the command-
ment to exclude lepers for the good of
the community and the Jewish doctrine
of self-defense, which also applies to
medical situations and allows citizens to
stop those who might cause them harm.
THE RIGHT TO CHOOSE
Attorney Joel Dorfman, founder of
Michigan for Vaccine Choice, believes
vaccination should be a personal
choice, not a legal mandate. He said the
current measles scare is overblown.
“It’
s a benign disease for over 99
percent of the population,” he said. “It’
s
extremely rare to die from measles.”
Dorfman, who said he provided
financial support for the Rubinsteins’
lawsuit against Temple Israel, disagreed
with the outcome of that case, saying
Temple Israel violated the law by refus-
ing to accept a waiver based on reli-
gious reasons. He believes the vaccines,
as well as the schedule for administer-
ing them, causes more harm than the
diseases they are intended to prevent.
Meanwhile, at press time, 18 cases
of measles in Metro Detroit have been
confirmed, and the number of loca-
tions visited by infected individuals
from March 14-21 has grown to 25.
While the original exposures were
in the Oak Park and Southfield area,
potential exposure locations now
include Berkley, Bloomfield Hills,
Madison Heights, Novi, Pontiac, Royal
Oak, West Bloomfield and Farmington
Hills.
For daily updates, go to oakgov.com/
health. ■