A court ordered a Michigan mom to either vaccinate her 9-year-old son or go to jail. The legal battle started when the woman’s ex-husband sued her in court for delaying some of the boy’s vaccines.
A judge in Oakland County sided with the man and gave the mother two options: vaccination or jail time.
“I would rather sit behind bars standing up for what I believe in, than giving in to something I strongly don’t believe in,”
Rebecca Bredow told reporters.
She added that she is scared that one of the vaccines may harm her son. Even though her ex-husband wants the boy vaccinated, she opposes it after seeing the effects of the vaccines on other children.
Bredow applied for a waiver which exempted her son from the mandatory vaccination. Parents can opt out of getting their kids the shots through a waiver in the state of Michigan.
Parents Have a Choice
But the woman’s decision led to a lengthy court battle with the boy’s father, and now a judge ruled that the child should get the vaccines. The woman must vaccinate her son until Oct. 11 under the court’s order. If she refuses, she could land in prison for contempt of a court. The judge will decide how much time the woman will spend in jail.
Bredow told reporters that the ruling angered her and made her feel that she has been stripped of her rights as a parent. She underlined that parents have a choice too and their voices should be heard. The woman couldn’t grasp why a judge would not side with her as the boy’s primary caretaker on the issue.
The woman said that she doesn’t plan to land in jail so she will vigorously fight the decision in court.
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