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Lawsuit challenges vaccine counseling requirement

Doctor with stethoscope photo
Alex Proimos via Wikimedia | CC BY 2.0

A legal challenge has been filed against a state rule that requires counseling for parents who have a religious objection to vaccinating their children.

For two years, Michigan has required parents who have a religious objection to vaccinating their school-aged children to show up at their local health department for a counseling session on the benefits of immunizations.

Kate Oliveri is an attorney with Thomas More Law Center, which filed the legal challenge.

She says the state should not take sides.

“The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services provides local health departments with a document to assist in this religious inquisition.”

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Human Services says the policy has resulted in fewer families opting out of vaccinating their children against measles and other infectious diseases.

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