The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons Filed an Amicus Brief in the Ninth Circuit in Support of Restoring California’s Religious Exemption to Vaccination

TUCSON, Ariz., Aug. 18, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) filed its amicus brief on Friday in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to restore in California the religious exemption to vaccination, in Royce v. Bonta (No. 25-2504). California removed its longstanding religious exemption for ten vaccines beginning in 2016 by enacting SB 277, which further denied the personal belief exemption.

“The religious exemption to vaccination existed for many decades in California, as in nearly every other state, and there is no rational basis for denying this religious liberty,” explains Andrew Schlafly, AAPS General Counsel. “The Supreme Court has repeatedly emphasized the vitality of religious liberty under our Constitution.”

Californians are being denied entry to school, public and private, unless they forgo their religious objections to vaccine requirements. Many of the ten diseases for which vaccination is required in California have not been seen there in decades, or do not create life-threatening risks for most people.

“SB 277 is nothing like the law upheld in 1905 in Jacobson v. Massachusetts by the Supreme Court amid a smallpox outbreak, as that law allowed people to avoid the vaccine by paying a small fine of $5 (equivalent to an inflation-adjusted amount of only $182.65 today, which is less than most traffic tickets),” AAPS stated in its brief.

“The penalty in Jacobson cannot be considered comparable to the entire and permanent exclusion of a child from school, thereby precluding many career opportunities,” AAPS continued.

All major religious have objections to ingredients in certain vaccines, AAPS pointed out in its brief. Adherents to Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism have reasons based on their faiths to seek exemptions, AAPS explained.

“The consumption of pork is generally prohibited by both Orthodox Jewish and Muslim religions. Porcine gelatin, derived from pork, is used in multiple vaccines, particularly as a stabilizer in vaccines carrying live viruses,” AAPS wrote.

“Many Christians, including Roman Catholics, reject vaccines that are derived from aborted fetal tissue,” AAPS added.

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) is a national organization representing physicians in all specialties since 1943. It publishes the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons.

Contact: Andrew Schlafly, (908) 719-8608, aschlafly@aol.com

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