The State of New York has fined three Amish schools $118,000 for refusing childhood vaccinations. The schools take no public money. Counsel says the families can pay the judgments only if the state takes their land.
Joseph Miller, Jonas Smucker, and Ezra Wengerd are Old Order Amish. With three community schools in Clymer, Heuvelton, and the Canajoharie settlement, they are the plaintiffs in Miller v. McDonald. The dispute is about whether New York may compel a religious community to vaccinate its children, or close its schools, or surrender land to cover the penalty for refusing.
Public Health Law section 2164 requires children in any public, private, or parochial school to show proof of immunization after fourteen days of attendance. The schedule covers measles, polio, pertussis, varicella, and the rest of a list that amounts to about two dozen doses. A physician may still excuse a child if a vaccine would be medically harmful.
A parent may not excuse a child on religious…