Unconstitutional vaccine mandates continue to deny children of religious families access to education and health care, says a national coalition of religious and medical liberty groups.
(LifeSiteNews) – A national coalition of religious and medical liberty organizations urged President Donald Trump to adopt a plan to restore First Amendment rights in four states — New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine — where unconstitutional vaccine mandates continue to deny children of religious families access to education and health care.
The coalition made the request after addressing a letter to members of President Trump’s newly established Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) that has a mandate from the White House to investigate emerging threats to religious liberty and recommend policies to safeguard fundamental religious rights of all Americans.
Among the signatories are Guiding the Impact (which led the effort), Children’s Health Defense, Teachers for Choice, the MAHA Institute, Physicians for Informed Consent, Autism Action Network, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons, the Global Wellness Forum, and dozens of others.
“Your focus on parental rights, conscience protections, and the First Amendment rights of students aligns directly with the plight of religious families in these four states,” the authors to the RLC noted. “President Trump’s proven commitment to defending religious liberty, as evidenced by his establishment of this Commission, underscores the urgency of restoring the freedom of these families to practice their faith without government interference.”
“We implore the Commission to act swiftly to protect the children and families suffering under these unconstitutional policies,” they wrote.
The coalition requests that an Executive Order be issued by President Trump on Independence Day, July 4, to withhold federal funds from educational institutions that deny religious exemptions to vaccination requirements.
The signatories also urge direct legal action by Attorney General Pam Bondi against New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine for First Amendment violations, and Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to prohibit medical providers that receive federal funds from denying non-emergency care based on religious objections to vaccinations, ensuring healthcare access.
“Across faiths — Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and others — believers object to vaccines, particularly those derived from aborted fetal cell lines, viewing their bodies as sacred temples of God,” the letter explained. “These sincerely held beliefs, protected by the First Amendment, are unjustly disregarded by New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine, necessitating immediate action to restore religious liberty.”
The authors noted that religious objections to vaccination, rooted in deeply personal and spiritual convictions include but are in no way limited to:
- Viewing the body as God’s temple, sacred and inviolable by foreign substances.
- Trusting in divine protection over human medical intervention.
- Ethical concerns about vaccines developed using aborted fetal cell lines, which may suggest acceptance of abortion, and supporting companies that use aborted fetal cell lines.
- Beliefs that injecting DNA fragments from aborted fetuses is impure or unclean.
- Objections to vaccines for sexually transmitted diseases, which may imply condoning premarital sex.
- The view that injecting disease to prevent disease is ungodly.
- Adherence to halal dietary laws that conflict with vaccine ingredients.
In one case recently reported by The Daily Wire, a New York high school student was denied medical exemptions seven times despite doctors explaining to school authorities that one or more additional vaccines would likely harm the student’s health.
“The problem really is these New York State Department of Health regulations that were issued in 2019, that led to hundreds of children who had longstanding medical exemptions suddenly getting them revoked,” the girl’s attorney, Sujata Gibson, explained. “Meaning many, many families have had to move out of town, get vaccinated against medical advice — some children have been severely harmed by that.”
“Children with disabilities are required to be accommodated and allowed to attend school,” the attorney said. “And what these school districts are doing is flat-out discriminatory and dangerous to their health.”
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Full text of the June 4, 2025 letter to the White House Religious Liberty Commission:
Dear Members of the Religious Liberty Commission,
The undersigned religious liberty, medical liberty, related organizations, and religious leaders write to commend the establishment of the Religious Liberty Commission and to urge immediate action to address critical violations of religious liberty in four states — New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine — that deny religious exemptions to childhood vaccination requirements for school attendance and cause discriminatory practices in healthcare. These policies unconstitutionally infringe upon the First Amendment rights of religious families, barring children from public schools as well as private schools that wish to accept these children, and denying access to publicly funded medical care based on their sincerely held religious beliefs which prevent these families from injecting their children with one or more vaccines.
We respectfully request that the Commission include specific recommendations in its report to the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council, including: (1) an Executive Order and legislation to withhold federal funds from educational institutions denying religious exemptions to vaccination requirements, ensuring access to education; (2) legal action by the Attorney General against New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine for First Amendment violations; and (3) regulations and legislation to prohibit medical providers receiving federal funds from denying non-emergency care based on religious objections to vaccinations, ensuring healthcare access.
The United States Constitution enshrines the fundamental right to religious liberty in the First Amendment. As President Trump has stated, “Our Founders understood that no right is more fundamental to a peaceful, prosperous, and virtuous society than the right to follow one’s religious convictions.” The Founders envisioned a nation where religious people and institutions are free to practice their faith without fear of discrimination or hostility from the government. To safeguard this principle, the executive branch has committed to vigorously enforcing the robust protections for religious liberty enshrined in federal law.
However, the policies of New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine directly undermine this right by targeting conscience protections and denying parents the ability to direct the upbringing and education of their children in accordance with their faith.
While 46 states allow religious exemptions to childhood vaccination requirements for school attendance, the four states at issue permit only medical exemptions – and even then in name only - directly discriminating against families of faith. Education is compulsory in every state, so parents face potential referrals to child protective agencies, fines, court proceedings, or even criminal charges, despite schools blocking their child’s access over vaccination status. This denial forces religious parents into three untenable options: (1) vaccinate their children against their sincerely held religious beliefs, with eternal consequences; (2) homeschool, which is impractical for most due to work, financial, or educational constraints; or (3) relocate to a state that respects religious freedom, a choice burdened by career, financial, and family obligations. These often-impossible choices have led to profound consequences for children and families in these states. Since 2015 in California, 2019 in New York and Maine, and 2021 in Connecticut, significant numbers of children have faced substantial challenges due to restricted access to education. These challenges have impacted their academic progress, social development, and emotional well-being—particularly during critical developmental years. The long-term consequences of disrupted educational opportunities are profound and, in many cases, irreversible. These policies violate the U.S. Constitution and contradict the liberty our Founding Fathers fought to protect.
The urgency of addressing these violations is underscored by widespread religious objections to vaccination, as evidenced by millions of evangelicals who, as reported by the New York Times, decline certain vaccinations due to "deeply held spiritual convictions." These beliefs, shared by many within faith communities, highlight the significance of this issue to the Commission’s mandate. Yet, liberal courts in Democrat-controlled states like New York and California dismiss such convictions. For instance, in March 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in New York rejected Amish families’ claims against vaccination requirements, stating that the burden on their religious beliefs did not constitute an "existential threat" (Miller v. McDonald, 130 F.4th 258, 271 (2d Cir. 2025)). This precedent was swiftly used by a California federal court to deny a similar claim (Royce v. Pan, No. 3:23-cv-02012-H-BLM (S.D. Cal. Mar.
17, 2025)), leaving families without timely relief. Across faiths—Jewish, Christian, Muslim, Hindu, and others—believers object to vaccines, particularly those derived from aborted fetal cell lines, viewing their bodies as sacred temples of God. These sincerely held beliefs, protected by the First Amendment, are unjustly disregarded by New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine, necessitating immediate action to restore religious liberty.
Religious objections to vaccination are diverse, individualized, and deeply rooted in faith, and they include but are in no way limited to:
- Viewing the body as God’s temple, sacred and inviolable by foreign substances.
- Trusting in divine protection over human medical intervention.
- Ethical concerns about vaccines developed using aborted fetal cell lines, which may suggest acceptance of abortion, and supporting companies that use aborted fetal cell lines.
- Beliefs that injecting DNA fragments from aborted fetuses is impure or unclean.
- Objections to vaccines for sexually transmitted diseases, which may imply condoning premarital sex.
- The view that injecting disease to prevent disease is ungodly.
- Adherence to halal dietary laws that conflict with vaccine ingredients.
These objections reflect the deeply personal and spiritual convictions of religious families, which the First Amendment protects. Yet, the policies of these four states penalize children for their families’ beliefs, denying them access to education — a fundamental right essential to their development and participation in a pluralistic democracy. Some of the most severe violations of religious liberty have occurred in New York State, where strict vaccination policies without religious exemptions have disproportionately affected conservative Jewish and Amish communities, barring them from attending even their own faith-based schools and deepening their marginalization. This pattern of religious hostility extends beyond schools, as doctors’ offices in these states, and increasingly across the U.S., often deny basic medical care to families who, due to religious objections, do not comply with the CDC’s recommended vaccination schedule, further restricting their access to essential services.
A federal judicial precedent supports the unconstitutionality of such policies. In August 2023, the United States District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi (Bosarge v. Edney) ruled that Mississippi’s law, which allowed only medical exemptions to school vaccination requirements, violated the First Amendment. The court found that favoring secular medical exemptions over religious exemptions unconstitutionally
prioritized secular conduct over religious conduct. By this logic, New York, California,
Connecticut, and Maine are in clear violation of the United States Constitution. Despite this ruling, these states persist in their unconstitutional policies, discriminating against religious families and undermining America’s tradition of religious liberty.
We respectfully request that the Religious Liberty Commission recommend the following actions in its report to the White House Faith Office and the Domestic Policy Council:
- Protect Religious Freedom in Education through Executive and Legislative Action: Issue an Executive Order barring discretionary federal funds from being used to support any educational service agency, state educational agency, local education agency, elementary school, secondary school, or institution of higher education that does not permit religious exemptions to vaccination requirements. Congress should then enact a statute to codify this policy, ensuring alignment with First Amendment protections and safeguarding the rights of religious families to access education without compromising their faith.
- Initiate Legal Action and Enforce the First Amendment: Notify the Attorney General that New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine are in violation of the First Amendment, as articulated by the Mississippi precedent. Request they initiate appropriate legal action against these states to enforce constitutional protections for religious families so they can access education without compromising their faith.
- Protect Access to Healthcare for Religious Families: Direct the Department of Health and Human Services to issue guidance or regulations prohibiting medical providers receiving federal funds, such as through Medicare or Medicaid, from denying non-emergency care to patients based on religious objections to vaccinations, and collaborate with Congress to enact a statute codifying this protection. This would ensure that religious families maintain access to essential healthcare services without compromising their faith, reinforcing First Amendment protections against discriminatory practices.
The Religious Liberty Commission’s mandate to investigate emerging threats to religious liberty and recommend policies to safeguard this fundamental right is critical to addressing these violations. Your focus on parental rights, conscience protections, and the First Amendment rights of students aligns directly with the plight of religious families in these four states. President Trump’s proven commitment to defending religious
liberty, as evidenced by his establishment of this Commission, underscores the urgency of restoring the freedom of these families to practice their faith without government interference.
We have gathered substantial evidence from families in New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine documenting the religious discrimination and hostility they face due to these unconstitutional policies, and we respectfully request a meeting in June to deliver this evidence and discuss further action. Please kindly contact us at [email protected] to arrange this meeting.
We implore the Commission to act swiftly to protect the children and families suffering under these unconstitutional policies. By including these recommendations in your report, you can help ensure that America remains a nation where religious liberty is celebrated and protected for future generations.
Sincerely,
Guiding The Impact (Lead Organization) in collaboration with:
Mary Holland, President and CEO, Children’s Health Defense
Aimee Villella McBride, Executive Director, Global Wellness Forum
Catharine Layton, Chief Operating Officer, Informed Consent Action Network
Leland Lehrman, MAHA Institute
Dr. Aaron Lewis, Family of God International
Pastor Robert A. Schuller, Robert Schuller Ministries
Reverend Jeffrey A. Graves, Church ONEighty
Reverend Victoria LaRowe, Universal Life Church
The Rev. Jacob W. Dell, Pastor, The First Congregational Church of Woodbury
Craig Unruh, Restoration Church
Pastor John Vigneri, Northford Community Church
Mona Colwell, CT State Leader, Intercessors for America
Chip Murray, Co-Founder, Christian Leaders of The Hudson
Chip Murray, Founder, Orange Strong NY
Yusuf M. Saleeby, MD, Priority Health Healing Ministry
Chaplain Matthew T. Miller, President, First Responders Assistance Team, Inc.
Jamie Bailey, Beautiful Minds of Tomorrow Ministry
Reverend Cait Corrigan
Reverend Kathryn S. Mercado
Reverend Jacquelyn Elizabeth BizewskiDr. Christiane Northrup, MD, Co-Founder, Maine Stands Up
Tiffany Kreck, Co-Founder, Health Choice Maine
Rita Palma, President, My Kids My Choice
John Gilmore, Executive Director, Autism Action Network
Christina Hildebrand, President and Founder, A Voice for Choice Advocacy, Inc.
Kate Prokop, President and Founder, Connecticut Residents Against Medical Mandates Inc.
Jackie Homan, Greenwich Patriots
Felicia Milelli. Board Chair, NJ Public Health Innovation PAC
Emily Tarsell, LCPC, President, Health Choice Maryland
Bob Runnells, Director, Informed Choice Washington
Maureen H. McDonnell, Executive Director, Millions Against Mandates
Andy Schlafly, General Counsel, Association of American Physicians and Surgeons
Shira Miller, M.D., Founder and President, Physicians for Informed Consent
Brucha Weisberger, Founder, Macabim
Dian Dossias, Advocate, Stop College Mandates
Ginger Taylor, No Deception
Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, Choonadi, LLC
Michael Kane, Founder, Teachers for Choice
Sujata S. Gibson, Esq., Gibson Law Firm, PLLC
Kevin Barry, Esq., Founder, LIBERTY NOW
Giulia Miller, Esq., Law Office of Giulia Miller
CC: The Honorable Donald J. Trump, President of the United States
The Honorable Pam Bondi, Attorney General
The Honorable Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., Secretary of Health and Human Services
The Honorable Linda McMahon, Secretary of Education
Mr. Vince Haley, Assistant to the President and Director of the Domestic Policy Council
Ms. Harmeet K. Dhillon, Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division
Mr. Calley Means, Senior Advisor to the Secretary of Health and Human Services
