http://abcnews.go.com/wire/US/ap20020814_698.html
U.S. Judge Overturns Religious Exemption to Ark. Law Requiring Kids' Vaccination for Schools
The Associated Press
LITTLE ROCK, Ark. Aug. 14 — A federal judge has struck down a religious exemption to a state statute requiring vaccinations before children can attend public school.
The exemption, granted only to members of "recognized churches," violates the establishment and free association clauses of the First Amendment, Judge Susan Webber Wright ruled Tuesday.
The decision left intact the state's vaccination requirement, meaning students still are subject to the requirement with no religious exemption to immunization.
The ruling came in a lawsuit brought by Cynthia Boone, the mother of a student who refused to be vaccinated. The lawsuit said that although Ashley Boone is not a member of a recognized religious group with tenets against vaccinations, she personally believes that vaccinations "are against the will of her God."
Cabot High School officials had barred Ashley from classes during the 2001-2002 school year because she refused to be vaccinated against hepatitis B, a sexually transmitted disease.
Boone filed a federal lawsuit against the school district and the Arkansas Health Department, claiming the state selectively allows religious exemptions from vaccinations.
After the suit was filed, Wright temporarily ordered the district to allow Ashley to return to classes. The order was later extended to allow her to finish the school year.
As a result of the ruling, she will have to be vaccinated in order to return for her senior year.
The effect of Arkansas' religious exemption, Wright said in Tuesday's ruling, was to discriminate against individuals with sincerely held individual religious beliefs.
"It is difficult to imagine how the state would have a compelling interest in limiting the religious exemption to some religious sects and individuals over others," the judge wrote.
