The parents said they are at a loss. The schools in Baltimore have a monopoly of sorts. Unlike areas like New York or New Jersey, these are the only Jewish schools in the Orthodox community. Parents would have no choice but to concede, or home school their children, since Jewish law states that one may not go against the ruling of beit din, nor may one bring a matter to secular court. (Maryland state law might side with the parents. Similar to the law in most other states, Maryland’s law states, “A child whose parent objects to immunization on the ground that it conflicts with the parent’s bona fide religious beliefs and practices may not be required to present a physician’s certification of immunization in order to be admitted to school.” This applies to both public and private institutions.)
One mother who wishes to remain anonymous, for fear of being ridiculed and ostracized, has a son who was accepted into the Talmudic Academy of Baltimore three years ago, but afterward she received a call from the nurse saying that her son was not up to date on his vaccines, even though she had signed the religious exemption on his medical form. She said that injecting neurotoxins into her child could potentially harm him, and that “goes against my religion of taking care of our bodies.” Afterward she contacted the state’s Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, which informed her that all private schools in Maryland must take the exemption, in accordance to the state’s attorney general. She then e-mailed the attorney general’s office to confirm this fact. Thanks to her persistence, her son was finally allowed to attend the school, up until this summer, when she received a letter saying that the school can no longer accept the exemption.
Moshe Kahan, an online businessman and anti-vaccination activist, shared with The Jewish Press a letter written and signed by Rabbi Shmuel Kamenetsky, a prominent rabbi and rosh yeshiva of the Talmudical Yeshiva of Philadelphia. The letter states, “Schools must honor the request for religious exemption from such parents, for it is entirely justified.… anyone coercing someone to vaccinate against his better judgment becomes responsible before Hashem for any adverse reaction – big or small – that could result from it, God forbid.”
In response to a request for a statement, a staffer at Bais Yaakov of Baltimore e-mailed the following statement from the board of directors, “It is the long-standing policy of Bais Yaakov of Baltimore, that for the protection of our 1,500 students and 500 staff members, and in accordance with the guidance of our da’at Torah, all students must be vaccinated as required by Maryland law.”
Kahan said, “If you’re convinced that vaccines protect you, and you vaccinate your children, why are you afraid of the children that are not vaccinated? Think about it.” The scientific community has answered that question by stating that some vaccinations are often effective in 90 to 97% of the population. When everyone receives the vaccine, the herd immunization effect allows everyone to stay disease-free. But when unvaccinated people join the population, then those for whom the vaccination is not effective become susceptible.
Indeed, the scientific community is nearly unanimous in its support of vaccinating children according to the recommendation of American Academy of Pedicatrics. According to the organization’s website: “Studies conducted in the U.S. and Europe have found no association between the MMR vaccine and autism. Over the years, the Institute of Medicine and the AAP have organized several panels of independent scientists – all concluded no association between MMR and autism.”
After an outbreak of measles in Disneyland in January, Dr. Yvonne Maldonado, vice chair of the AAP committee on infectious diseases, said on the AAP website, “Measles virus is one of the most contagious viruses in humans. Delaying vaccination leaves children vulnerable to measles when it is most dangerous to their development, and it also affects the entire community. We see measles spreading most rapidly in communities with higher rates of delayed or missed vaccinations. Declining vaccination for your child puts other children at risk, including infants who are too young to be vaccinated, and children who are especially vulnerable due to certain medications they’re taking.”