Federal judge blocks D.C. from letting minors get vaccinated without parental consent

A federal judge has issued a decision that now bans D.C. from enforcing a law allowing minors to get vaccinated without parental consent or knowledge. The decision came after parents filed two separate lawsuits in July, seeking preliminary injunctions in both cases, which the judge granted Friday.

The Minor Consent to Vaccinations Amendments Act (MCA), which the D.C. Council passed in 2020, allowed for children as young as 11 to receive routine vaccines recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention if a doctor could confirm that the child was "able to comprehend the need for, the nature of, and any significant risks ordinarily inherent in the medical care." Mayor Muriel Bowser allowed the bill to pass without vetoing it. Bowser's office did not immediately response to a request for comment.

Judge Trevor McFadden of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia threw out the D.C. government's motions to dismiss the parents' claims, saying that the federal law "preempts the District's law." The judge said that MCA impedes on the exercise of free religion, and also that it inhibits a parent's ability to observe signs of adverse reactions that a child may have to vaccinations.

McFadden is a Trump-appointed judge who has said the Justice Department needs to treat the Capitol rioters more fairly.

McFadden's court filing included an illustration from a 13-year-old D.C. charter school student who said he felt peer pressured to take the vaccine and that the "vaccination is some sort of hall pass." That student allegedly had negative reactions to vaccines in the past. The judge said he took into account the parents' feelings that the D.C. government has created a "pressure-cooker environment" that encourages children to defy their parents. The Washington Post first reported on the judge's opinion.

One Maryland man who filed a suit said his daughter attempted to get a COVID-19 vaccine so she could attend a summer camp and was allegedly "coached" by a doctor on how to get the vaccine without her parents' consent, despite their religious objections. When the doctor brought out the needles, she opted not to get the vaccine, the suit alleges.

"States and the District are free to encourage individuals — including children — to get vaccines," McFadden wrote in his opinion. "But they cannot transgress on the program Congress created. And they cannot trample on the Constitution."

Ward 3 Councilmember Mary Cheh, who introduced the D.C. bill in early 2019, told DCist/WAMU that she was not impressed with McFadden's reasoning.

"I didn't find the judge's reasoning to be particularly persuasive or compelling in terms of the standing of the plaintiffs because the child cited in that lawsuit ultimately didn't decide to get vaccinated," Cheh said. "I also thought his reasoning about preemption of our law by federal law was a bit strange."

The Council passed the MCA in 2020 on a 10-3 vote against the recommendation of parents and activists who urged Bowser to veto the bill.

The judge's blocking of the D.C. law came as a trucker convoy blocked interstate traffic in the city Friday in protest of nationwide COVID-19 restrictions that, for the most part, have been lifted. According to The Washington Post, the Children's Health Defense — led by anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. — called the decision a a major legal victory, while other health organizations condemned the parents' lawsuits.

"Vaccines are one of if not the safest medical treatments available," Klint Peebles, advocacy committee chair of the Medical Society of DC told the Post in a statement. "MSDC remains a strong believer in the medical benefit of vaccines, and we will continue to support access to vaccines."

This story is from DCist.com, the local news site of WAMU.