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74 Mo. L. Rev. 287 (2009)
Religious &(and) Philosophical Exemptions to Mandatory School Vaccinations: Who Should Bear the Costs to Society

handle is hein.journals/molr74 and id is 291 raw text is: Religious & Philosophical Exemptions to Mandatory School Vaccinations: Who Should Bear the Costs to Society? Anthony Ciolli* As of 1999, all fifty states mandate that parents vaccinate their children against at least some diseases, such as measles, rubella, and polio, as a condition of public school enrollment.' However, every state has also tailored its legislation to exempt certain individuals from these mandatory vaccinations. Not surprisingly, all states allow medical exemptions to their immunization requirement, under the belief that it makes no sense to force vaccines on children who are allergic to vaccines, have compromised immune systems, or would otherwise suffer more harm than good from receiving a vaccine. But other types of exemptions from mandatory school vaccination requirements have not been universally embraced. For instance, forty-eight states have instituted religious exemptions to their mandatory vaccination requirements, with West Virginia3 and Mississippi4 not believing religious beliefs are sufficient to exclude a child from the requirement. Far fewer states have instituted the more controversial philosophical exemption: only fourteen states recognize non-religious moral or philosophical opposition to vaccination as a legitimate reason to opt out of their school vaccination requirements.5 * Appellate Law Clerk to Chief Justice Rhys S. Hodge, Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands. The opinions in this article are the author's alone and do not reflect the views of Chief Justice Hodge, the Supreme Court of the Virgin Islands, or the Virgin Islands judiciary. 1. Edmund W. Kitch et al., U.S. Law, in VACCINES 1165, 1168 (Stanley A. Plotkin & Walter A. Orenstein eds., 3d ed. 1999). 2. Alan R. Hinman et al., Childhood Immunization: Laws that Work, 30 J.L. MED. & ETHICS 122, 124 (2002). 3. W. VA. CODE § 16-3-4 (West, Westlaw through S. 403 of 2009 Reg. Sess.). 4. MISS. CODE ANN. § 41-23-37 (West, Westlaw through 2008 Sess.). 5. The fourteen states that have codified a philosophical exemption are Arizona (ARiz. REv. STAT. ANN. § 15-873 (Westlaw through 48th Leg., 2d Reg. Sess.)), California (CAL. HEALTH & SAFETY CODE § 120365 (West 2006)), Idaho (IDAHO CODE ANN. § 39-4802 (LEXIS through 2008 Reg. Sess.)), Louisiana (LA. REV. STAT. ANN. § 17:170(E) (2001)), Maine (ME. REV. STAT. ANN. tit. 20-A, § 6355 (2008)), Michigan (MICH. COMP. LAWS ANN. § 333.9215 (West 2001)), Minnesota (MINN. STAT. ANN. § 121A.15 (Supp. 2009)), Nebraska (NEB. REV. STAT. § 79-221 (Supp. 2006)), North Dakota (N.D. CENT. CODE § 23-07-17.1 (2008)), Ohio (OHIO REV. CODE ANN. § 3313.671 (LexisNexis Supp. 2008)), Oklahoma (OKLA. STAT. tit. 70 § 1210.192 (Westlaw through 2008 legislation)), Vermont (VT. STAT. ANN. tit. 18, §

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