A woman in the UK has lost her court battle to not have her kids vaccinated following a High Court judge ruled that preventing them from being vaccinated was not in the children’s best interests.
The Mother refused to have her kids vaccinated on the grounds they were vegan, like her, and that she fed them only “natural products” so as to keep their bodies “as free of toxins as I can possibly make them.”
The father, however, applied for a court order to get his sons vaccinated, saying the safety of his children come first and calling the mother “obsessive, overprotective and narrow in her views.”
He told the court that she had “a suspicion of all conventional medicine” and used an example of her not allowing the children to take paracetamol-based medicine, like Calpol, specifically designed for children.
The woman defended her beliefs, telling the court: “It is not natural to be injected with metal elements and as a vegan, it goes against my beliefs for my children to be injected with something that is grown on animal cells or something that has been tested on animals.”
She also suggested doctors don’t criticize vaccines, as they are afraid of losing their jobs. She also says that her boys had strong immune systems that would help protect against diseases.
Being vegan doesn’t necessarily mean that you won’t use modern medicine, with the diet often cited as an environmentally sustainable option to help slash planet-warming emissions. However, the topic is still under debate, with certain foods like palm oil attached to heavy deforestation.
Judge Mark Rogers upheld his decision that the children should be vaccinated under the 1989 Children’s Act which allows judges to overrule parents’ decisions if their welfare is at stake.
He pointed out that the Mom couldn’t find a doctor to support her views in court and told the hearing that he had “serious concerns as to [the mother’s] ability to look objectively and evenhandedly” at the issue.
“I am truly sorry that the mother will regard the decision as wrong,” he said, “but my objective duty is clear.”
After the ruling, the children will now receive vaccinations against polio, measles, meningitis, and diphtheria.