There are, I believe, 19 states that currently allow a philosophical objection to vaccinations for school admission. Thanks to the incredible groups like the National Vaccine Information Center, it is likely more states may be added. Texas is likely to make the total 20 in the near future.

However, 48 states (all but Mississippi and West Virginia) allow for a religious exemption. There has been a supreme court ruling on this issue which provides broad interpretation of the meaning of religious exemption.

A parent's religious "beliefs" are sufficient to qualify for the religious exemption. The "belief" is defined as a faith that occupies a place in their lives parallel to that held by the orthodox belief in God or any sincere religious beliefs which are based upon a power or being to which all else is subordinate and on which all else is ultimately dependent

They qualify if they believe that not giving the vaccines is what they must do to follow God's will for them in fulfilling their role as responsible parents. Their child's immune system is a creation of God and that God has given their child and that to vaccinate would violate their faith in what God created.

The parents do NOT have to be part of a recognized religious organization. You don't have to join any church, you can be any religion at all. But if they are a part of an established religion (Catholic, Protestant, Islam, etc.) they can still have their own perceptions of what it means to follow God's will which may be counter to what that organization states.

The case is established with legal precedent at the US Supreme Court level. (United States Supreme Court in Sharon Levy vs. Northcourt cases)

The important rule here is that if a school district denies religious exemption they are violating your federally protected civil rights under the first amendment by what is called state action and under federal law you are entitle to money damages.

You can review one of the cases that helped set this law by clicking here.

James Filenbaum, Attorney at Law, Presented at the 2nd International Vaccine Conference

Dr. Mercola's Comments:

This information is invaluable for those who are convinced that, after careful review of the evidence, that they should not give vaccines to their children. The first link below discusses in detail some of the approaches you will need to follow to obtain the exemption that is allowed in 48 of the states. You will need to integrate the information that Mr. Filenbaum has compiled above and you should have a solid stance to take that no school district should be able to over ride. Of course the school district always has the choice of refusing it, but they will have severe consequences for doing so. Usually this requires obtaining an attorney, which can be very costly. In the next month I will be providing you with some incredibly inexpensive options that will allow you to hire outstanding law firms on retainers for $25 a month. More details will follow in the next few weeks. Related Articles: How To Legally Avoid Unwanted Immunizations Of All Kinds The Anthrax Vaccine Saga: How Not to Develop a Vaccine Program Dangers of Anthrax Vaccine Shoot First and Ask Questions Later Shots in the Dark Setting the Record Straight on Anti-Vaccination Stance Vaccine Links Vaccines and Immune Suppression Link Between Autism Increase And Vaccination Vaccines and Immunization References and Research Citations Internet Becomes a Vaccine Battleground