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Vaccines Mandates and Religion: Where are We Headed with the Current Supreme Court?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  10 January 2022

Abstract

This article argues that the Supreme Court should not require a religious exemption from vaccine mandates. For children, who cannot yet make autonomous religious decision, religious exemptions would allow parents to make a choice that puts the child at risk and makes the shared environment of the school unsafe — risking other people’s children. For adults, there are still good reasons not to require a religious exemption, since vaccines mandates are adopted for public health reasons, not to target religion, are an area where free riding is a real risk, no religion actually prohibits vaccinating under a mandate, and policing religious exemptions is very difficult.

Type
Symposium Articles
Copyright
© 2021 The Author(s)

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