Vaccine mandate cases
From Conservapedia
- See also: Covid vaccine mandate cases
- Jacobson v. Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 197 U.S. 11 (1905) (cited 1467 times as of 7/15/25). But see Roman Catholic Diocese v. Cuomo.
- Zucht v. King, 260 U.S. 174, 175-77 (1922) ("[I]t is within the police power of a state to provide for compulsory vaccination.")
- Prince v. Massachusetts, 321 U.S. 158, 166-67 (1944) ("The right to practice religion freely does not include liberty to expose the community or the child to communicable disease or the latter to ill health or death.")
Rational basis review, often rejecting Free Exercise challenges to mandatory vaccination laws:
- Miller v. McDonald, No. 24-681, 2025 U.S. App. LEXIS 4839, 2025 WL 665102, at *8 (2d Cir. Mar. 3, 2025)
- We The Patriots USA, Inc. v. Conn. Off. of Early Childhood Dev., 76 F.4th 130, 156 (2d Cir. 2023)
- We The Patriots USA, Inc. v. Hochul, 17 F.4th 266, 290 (2d Cir.) ("Hochul") (per curiam), opinion clarified, 17 F.4th 368 (2d Cir. 2021)
- Doe, 19 F.4th at 1177-80;
- Whitlow v. California, 203 F. Supp. 3d 1079, 1086-87 (S.D. Cal. 2016) (denying motion for preliminary injunction against SB 277 and concluding no likelihood of success on the merits for a Free Exercise claim).
Courts have held that religious exemptions to vaccine mandates go beyond what the Constitution requires:
- Phillips v. City of New York, 775 F.3d 538, 543 (2d Cir. 2015);
- Whitlow, 203 F. Supp. 3d at 1084 ("[I]t is clear that the Constitution does not require the provision of a religious exemption to vaccination requirements, much less a [personal belief exemption].").
