Tel Aviv court orders mother to vaccinate her children
The court decided in favor of the father, who filed the lawsuit, ordering the mother to vaccinate her children within 14 days or risk legal recourse by the State.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFA vial of the measles, mumps, and rubella virus (MMR) vaccine is pictured at the International Community Health Services clinic in Seattle, Washington, U.S., March 20, 2019. Picture taken March 20, 2019(photo credit: REUTERS/LINDSEY WASSON)
A Tel Aviv Family Court has ordered a woman to vaccinate her two children, aged four and seven, who have never received vaccinations for MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) or any other preventable childhood diseases, after the father filed a lawsuit requesting the court for assistance.The court awarded the case in favor of the plaintiff, ordering that the mother vaccinate her children within 14 days or risk legal recourse by the State, according to Haaretz.“Although I got the impression that the defendant is acting in accordance with her worldview for the children’s benefit, the arguments she made against vaccinating were general, vague and not backed by evidence,” Judge Vered Shavit Finkelstein explained in her ruling.The parents have been tied up in multiple legal battles over the years regarding custody and child support, which the court settled prior to this case . Within those rulings, the mother agreed to make sure that their children receive all relevant vaccines and appointments recommended by the Health Ministry for children.The father claimed that by not vaccinating the children, the mother is categorically putting his children and others within harms way, and that she was "acting irresponsibly out of a 'messianic' ideology that opposes vaccines," according to Haaretz.The mother, however, claimed that the reasoning behind her hesitation to vaccinate the children was due to a fear of them contracting illnesses or allergic reactions. The mother submitted a waiver from the family doctor claiming their youngest chile, a four-year-old girl, can wait to have her vaccines, and the oldest, a seven-year-old-boy, should wait to be vaccinated due to being born with kidney complications. The father claims that the doctor does not know the children or work for any reputable clinic.According to the mother's report, the children experienced side effects in the past following their initial vaccinations including vomiting, rashes and breathing problems – and was not aware of the children's sensitivities until the occurrence.
