AUSTIN, Texas -- A federal judge has blocked Washington, D.C. from enforcing a law that would permit children as young as 11 years old to be vaccinated without the consent of or notification to their parents or guardians.
The lawsuit was filed by two separate sets of parents, and included the support of the Informed Consent Action Network (ICAN) and its legal team at Siri & Glimstad, led by attorney Aaron Siri.
Judge Trevor McFadden ruled (Case Number: Case No. 1:21-cv-01782) that the city's Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendments Act (MCA) violated federal law, specifically the 1986 National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act (NCVIA), by cutting out parents from the vaccination process.
"There is a clear war against parents being waged in the country, on multiple fronts," said Del Bigtree, founder and CEO of ICAN. "This legal ruling recognizes the government should not pit children against their parents."
Given the court's ruling, vaccines should no longer be administered to a child in Washington, D.C. without parental consent.
The decision will likely have echoing repercussions across the country. In California, a similar law is being floated that would permit children as young as 12 to get vaccinated without parental permission. Since California must also adhere to the NCVIA, this presents an impediment to implementing this potential law.
"This is a great victory, but it's only one battle in a war where you have huge amounts of money and selfish greed on one side, and parental love, societal concern, and justice on the other," Bigtree said. "I like our odds."
The Emmy-Award winning Bigtree currently hosts the breakout weekly investigative news program "The Highwire with Del Bigtree," which streams live weekly at 2pm EST/11am PST at thehighwire.com.