Connecticut Court Dismisses Parents' Challenge to Ban on Religious Vaccine Exemptions
A Connecticut Superior Court judge dismissed a lawsuit by two parents contesting the state's removal of religious exemptions for school vaccines, citing state law that excludes such exemptions from RFRA protection.
In a Monday decision, Connecticut Superior Court Judge Edward Krumeich granted a motion to dismiss a suit filed by parents Keira Spillane and Anna Kehle, who challenged the state's elimination of religious exemptions to school vaccine mandates. The lawsuit targeted Governor Ned Lamont, Education Director Charlene Russell-Tucker, Health Commissioner Manisha Juthani, the Orange Board of Education, and Whitby School, alleging violations of the Connecticut Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the state constitution, and the U.S. Constitution.
The court relied on a 2021 statute and a subsequent law that explicitly state religious exemptions are not protected under RFRA. The plaintiffs claimed vaccines derived from aborted fetal cells and animal parts violated their faith. After the Connecticut Supreme Court dismissed related constitutional claims in 2024 but remanded the RFRA issue, the Superior Court found no RFRA violation.
Attorney General William Tong hailed the ruling as confirming the legality and public-health benefit of the state's vaccine requirements. The case concludes a four-year legal battle over the exemption policy.
Why it matters
The ruling confirms Connecticut's ability to enforce vaccine mandates without religious exemptions, affecting school health policy and religious-freedom litigation.
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