New York's new vaccine law faces lawsuit challenge Complaint argues law ending religious exemptions to school vaccination rules is unconstitutional

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during an anti-vaccination rally in West Capitol Park on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, in Albany, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union) Robert F. Kennedy Jr. speaks during an anti-vaccination rally in West Capitol Park on Tuesday, May 14, 2019, in Albany, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union) Photo: Will Waldron, Albany Times Union Photo: Will Waldron, Albany Times Union Image 1 of / 5 Caption Close New York's new vaccine law faces lawsuit challenge 1 / 5 Back to Gallery

ALBANY — Two attorneys including prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F. Kennedy Jr. filed a lawsuit Wednesday challenging a new state law that ends religious exemptions to school vaccination rules.

The complaint was filed in state Supreme Court in Albany County on behalf of 55 families who had previously sought and obtained religious exemptions, and requests the court stop the law from taking effect. Judge Michael Mackey said he would decide Friday whether or not to grant the stay.

"Religious rights are fundamental," said Kennedy, an environmental attorney and leading figure in the anti-vaccine movement. "It is unconstitutional for the state to deprive people of such important rights when religious animus has played a key role."

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation in June eliminating all non-medical exemptions to the state's school vaccination rules, which require anyone attending public or private school to be vaccinated against common childhood diseases. Most states allow exemptions for medical or religious reasons, with some allowing exemptions based on "personal belief."

The measure was taken up by the state Legislature this year as measles cases downstate rose to their highest levels in decades. Outbreaks of the highly contagious and sometimes deadly respiratory disease have been concentrated in ultra-Orthodox communities in parts of Brooklyn and Rockland County.

In the complaint filed Wednesday, Kennedy and fellow high-profile attorney Michael Sussman argue that New York's ban on religious exemptions is unconstitutional and "unreasonably" interferes with religious freedom.

"To deprive families of the rights to freedom of religious expression, parental rights, and the right to either a public or private education, the state must demonstrate a 'compelling state interest' that the state has failed to prove here," said Sussman, a famed civil rights attorney who recently blocked an emergency declaration barring unvaccinated children in Rockland County from schools and other public places.

The complaint also argues that the state must act with neutrality toward all religious faiths and may not display impermissible animosity or hostility to religion. State legislators clearly violated this rule, it contends, when they called religious exemptions "utter garbage," "a myth and fabrication" and "a loophole."

Plaintiffs in the lawsuit are members of the Christian, Jewish and Muslim faiths, among others.

Only four other states have a ban on non-medical exemptions, though a number of states have begun considering bans as measles and other preventable childhood illnesses surge thanks to rising anti-vaccine sentiment.

Much of that sentiment has been fueled by well-organized, well-funded anti-vaccine lobbies that are spreading misinformation campaigns regarding the safety of vaccines. They claim vaccines cause autism and other chronic childhood conditions, though such claims have been thoroughly and repeatedly debunked by scientists and researchers.

They also contend a scheme to promote unsafe vaccines is underway between the government and pharmaceutical industry, which stands to benefit financially from vaccine use.

Others oppose vaccines for philosophical or religious reasons.