UPDATE: (via AP) An Illinois judge on Monday reversed a decision to bar a divorced mother from seeing her 11-year-old son because she isn’t vaccinated against COVID-19.
See original story below.
A judge in Chicago stripped a divorced mother of her child visitation rights after she revealed that she was not vaccinated against COVID-19.
The Chicago Sun-Times provides details on Judge James Shapiro’s decision, which is thought to be the first of its kind in the country:
A 39-year-old desk clerk from Pilsen, [Rebecca Firlit] said she was caught off guard by the judge and was shocked at his ruling.
“One of the first things he asked me when I got on the Zoom call was whether or not I was vaccinated, which threw me off because I asked him what it had to do with the hearing,” Firlit said.
“I was confused because it was just supposed to be about expenses and child support. I asked him what it had to do with the hearing, and he said, ‘I am the judge, and I make the decisions for your case.’”
Firlit claims she’s had adverse reactions to vaccines in the past and decided to skip the COVID-19 jab after consulting with her doctor. She’s appealing Shaprio’s ruling.
“It’s very much exceeding his judicial authority,” her attorney told The Sun-Times.
In the interim, Firlit is not allowed to see her 11-year-old son, but she speaks to him on the phone. “I talk to him every day. He cries, he misses me. I send him care packages,” Firlit said.
Firlit ex-husband, who is vaccinated, did not raise the issue of inoculation in the hearing but he supports the judge’s decision. His lawyer told The Washington Post, “There are children who have died because of COVID. I think every child should be safe. And I agree that the mother should be vaccinated.”
USA Today adds important context:
Nationwide hospitals are reporting an increase in pediatric COVID-19 cases as the delta variant spreads, and the health officials have urged those who are eligible to get vaccinated to protect others who cannot.
The Washington Post explains that other courts have used their authority to nudge people towards vaccine adoption:
Two judges in Ohio have also ordered that some people receive the vaccine as a condition of their probation. Similarly, two Georgia judges are reducing sentences for someoffenders who get a vaccine. In New York, judges in the Bronx and Manhattan have ordered defendants to get a vaccine as part of their rehabilitation and as a condition for seeking bail, respectively.