A Kentucky high school student is suing his local health department after being banned from school for being unvaccinated.

The 18-year-old student, Jerome Kunkel, is a captain on the Assumption Academy basketball team but he won’t be able to finish the season after the health department announced a ban of unvaccinated students amid a chickenpox outbreak at the school.

Kunkel cites religious beliefs as his reasoning for refusing vaccinations, saying many of them “contain aborted fetal cells.”

There are currently five different vaccines derived from fetal cells, including rubella, hepatitis A, varicella (chickenpox), shingles and rabies.

Covering the lawsuit, CNN falsely reports, “The chickenpox vaccine is not derived from aborted fetuses. There are a number of vaccines made in descendent cells of aborted fetuses dating back several decades, according to the National Catholic Bioethics Center.”

Because abortions are considered a sin to many Catholics, Kunkel refuses to inject anything made from fetal cells into his body.

Kunkel’s father, Jim, claims the chickenpox vaccine is derived from “aborted fetuses” and says that “as Christians we’re against abortions.”

“They’re trying to push it on us,” Jim Kunkel said of the health department’s actions.

The Kunkels’ lawyer, Chris Wiest, says over a dozen other families have contacted him in an attempt to be added to the lawsuit.

Jerome is upset about missing out on his final days of high school after being allowed to attend class for the last four years without any issues.

“The fact that I can’t finish my senior year of basketball, like our last couple games is pretty devastating. I mean you go through four years of high school, playing basketball, but you look forward to your senior year,” he vented.

Many readers may be surprised to learn there is a chickenpox vaccine in the first place as the infection was extremely common and considered non-harmful merely two decades ago.

The Daily Mail counters that narrative, arguing, “Pope Benedict XVI, who was formerly head of the Pontifical Academy for Life, ruled that it was morally acceptable for parents to give these vaccines to their children despite their origins because Catholics believe in protecting children from suffering, harm and death.”

Bill Kunkel is aware of the church’s stance on vaccines containing fetal tissue and disagrees, responding, “That doesn’t mean nothing to me. I follow the laws of the Church, and I know what’s right and wrong.”

Possibly the most important part of Kunkel’s decision is the role it’s playing in the national debate over vaccinations.

The mainstream media covered this story with contempt in comparison to the friendly coverage another teen received when he got vaccinated for his eighteenth birthday against the wishes of his “anti-vaxxer” mother.

The other teenager, Ethan Lindenberger, was even given the opportunity to testify before a Senate Committee regarding his decision.

Will Kunkel be afforded the same privilege?

Follow me on Twitter @Kelenmcbreen

It has become abundantly clear to anyone questioning the science and statistics generated by the vaccine industry that they will be silenced by the Gods of silicon valley. A logical adult conversation about the pros and cons of vaccines is no longer an option. Regardless that roughly 4 billion dollars have been quietly doled out from vaccine-related injuries according to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program.

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