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AVFCA Lawyers Went to Court to Fight for
Religious Exemptions for School Vaccine Requirements...
And are Waiting for the Judge's Orders!

A Voice for Choice Advocacy's lawyers went to court last Friday September 13 th to argue why our case, which claims CA school vaccine requirements go against the US Constitution’s First Amendment’s Free Exercise Clause and therefore California law must include a Religious Exemption in the statute requiring children to get vaccines to be enrolled in public or private school, has standing and should not be dismissed. (More background on the case below)

The Court started off by asking AVFCA's lawyer questions about the issues identified in its prehearing order [[link removed]] relating to standing and injury. Our lawyer responded with a lot of information citing the complaint about the right to religious objections being held by the parents and the financial and social losses incurred by the parents. After the DOJ attorney responded the judge stated, if needed, our lawyers could amend the complaint to add more detail.



The Court then focused on a couple of cases including Prince v. Massachusetts (a case from 1944), as it provides that the government can regulate the treatment of children, in the interest of protecting and reducing infection. Our lawyer focused on how SB 277 actually expanded secular exemptions and provides very loose exemptions to secular students who are homeless, or immigrants, or on IEPs and at the same time doesn't provide any religious exemption, including referred to the Brooklyn Diocese case and the current Free Exercise Clause framework from it. There was also a question of whether Bonta is immune, and should be removed from the case leaving Aragón (of the CDPH) as the only defendant.



Each side gave closing remarks and the judge took the matter under submission. The hope is that the judge dismisses Bonta from the case but denies the rest of the motion to dismiss. If not, the judge will grant leave to amend, which would require us to refile the case with updated information and clarification based on what the judge sees as the issues.



There is no time by which the judge has to rule by, so for now it is a waiting game.

However, AVFCA cannot do this without you!
And there are still 2 days and $30,000 left in our Matching Donation Campaign
Please DONATE anything and everything you can TODAY
so we can maximize on this matching donation!

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Background on the case: California never had a standalone Religious Exemption for K-12 vaccination requirements. However, in December 2023, A Voice for Choice Advocacy’s lawyers filed a lawsuit on behalf of three plaintiffs (more info and background: [link removed] [[link removed]] ) .

Not surprisingly, the state filed a Motion to Dismiss [[link removed]] this case, including an Exhibit of over 300 pages [[link removed]] outlining the history of school vaccination requirements (a great summary to have on hand!). AVFCA’s lawyers responded with a brilliantly written Opposition brief [[link removed]] . If you read the Motion to Dismiss and the Opposition brief, what quickly becomes clear is that the state is basing their argument on 100+ year old cases and our lawyers are basing the Plaintiffs’ arguments, not only on historic cases, but also on a multitude of cases from the last 12 months [[link removed]] , where time after time judges have ruled in favor of religious exemptions against vaccine mandates. While these cases include the case that instated a Religious Exemption for school vaccines in Mississippi, the rest are based on employee rights rather than student rights, they have set the stage for upholding religious rights, so AVFCA is hopeful that our lawsuit will be successful, even if it means going all the way to the Supreme Court!

Lawsuits are very expensive. AVFCA's legal team is prepared to take this case all the way to the Supreme Court. While AVFCA's legal team generously charges us a discounted hourly rate, this lawsuit will require hundreds of hours of their time and will likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Thus far it has cost over $50,000, and we are right at the start! AVFCA has taken on paying for this lawsuit because of our passion for Health Rights and Medical Freedom, as well as our desire to ensure Religious Rights when it comes to vaccine mandates. But AVFCA is completely funded by donations made by you. So we need your help TODAY. If you want to see a religious exemption instated for school vaccine requirements in California, please donate today, so we can ensure this lawsuit will bring health rights and medical freedom back to California’s children. AVFCA does not often ask for donations, but this is one of those times...

AVFCA cannot do this without you!
Please DONATE anything and everything you can TODAY
so we can maximize on the matching donation!

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Over the last 9 years A Voice for Choice Advocacy, and our sister organization, A Voice for Choice, have been sustained only by grassroots donations, as well as my own significant donations. We are so thankful to everyone who has generously donated. However, AVFCA always needs your help to make our efforts sustainable. If you appreciate the work we do, AVFCA asks you to donate as generously as you can - no amount is too little or too great! If you are not already, please consider becoming a monthly donor: www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/donate [[link removed]]

For those not wanting to give through PayPal (we are looking to use another vendor in the near future), you can send a check, use Venmo or use Zelle:
Send Check to: A Voice for Choice Advocacy, 530 Showers Drive #7404, Mountain View CA 94040
Send Venmo to: @avoiceforchoice (Note: you have to search under "Business" to find us)
Send Zelle to: [email protected]
For other ways to donate and support A Voice for Choice, please go to our website: [link removed] [[link removed]] Thank you in advance for your generosity.



Together we can make change happen!

C
Christina Hildebrand
President/Founder
A Voice for Choice Advocacy, Inc.
[email protected] [[email protected]]
www.AVoiceForChoiceAdvocacy.org [[link removed]]
www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org [www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org]
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A Voice for Choice Advocacy
530 Showers Drive, #7404
Mountain View, CA 94040
United States