Catholic mother denied vaccine exemption in New York

The U.S. Supreme Court this week denied an emergency request that would have allowed a Catholic mother in New York to send her 5-year-old son to kindergarten without the vaccinations required by state law.

The mother, identified in court papers as Jane Doe, wanted her son, C.F., to start at Waverly School in Eastchester this month and is seeking a religious exemption to required vaccines. New York dropped religious exemptions from school vaccine rules in 2019 after a measles outbreak, however, though medical exemptions remain.

Doe had asked the Supreme Court for a temporary injunction so C.F. could start school as the fight continues in court.

Two other courts had already denied her request for a temporary injunction. A federal judge in New York and then a three-judge U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit panel turned her down. The application was then presented to Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the circuit justice for the 2nd Circuit, who referred it to the full Supreme Court, which denied it. Justices Samuel Alito and Neil Gorsuch said they would have granted it.

The unsigned order does not address the case’s merits, and Doe’s underlying appeal remains pending in the 2nd…