An anti-vaccination organization filed a lawsuit against Williamsburg in Brooklyn, N.Y. this week over the local mandate that requires a round of measles shots for residents in the area.
The Children’s Health Defense, an anti-vaccination organization of which Robert F. Kennedy Jr., is a member, filed the lawsuit on Monday, claiming that the mandate violates the rights of individuals who do not want to be vaccinated, claiming that the mandate is “capricious, contrary to law” and exceeding “lawful authority.”
New York City declared a health emergency earlier this month, which resulted in local lawmakers approving the mandate, after a measles outbreak was reported in an Orthodox Jewish neighborhood in Brooklyn.
[Related: New York county bans unvaccinated kids from public spaces amid measles outbreak]
“The irreparable harm caused to Petitioners by the emergency Orders is incalculable. Parents, whose religious beliefs are being disregarded, risk becoming criminals if they simply do nothing. Parents, who know their children’s health status better than anyone else are being threatened with the forced vaccination of their children against their wills,” the lawsuit states.
“Children and their parents are being ostracized by neighbors. Because of the emergency Orders, the petitioners are being treated like pariahs, even though there is no evidence that any of them carry measles or have even been exposed to measles.”
The organization’s mission is push back against mainstream science, saying that the real science behind vaccines are inconclusive and should not be forced onto anyone.
“Hundreds of peer-reviewed studies showing vaccines contribute to the growing epidemics of autism, epilepsy, autoimmune disease are now easily accessible. Still, false narratives such as ‘Vaccines save lives’ and ‘Vaccines don’t cause autism’ continue to hijack the headlines, brainwashing trusting minds and causing division within the American public,” the organization’s mission statement reads.
“Meanwhile, thousands upon thousands of parents worldwide have publicly come forward with heartbreaking stories of their vaccine-injured children, and whistleblowers within institutions such as the CDC admit to hiding the harm vaccines are inflicting on our children.”
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is eyeing a 2020 run for president, called the recent measles outbreak “very troubling” during a news conference Tuesday.
The city has seen 285 confirmed cases since the outbreak began in the fall, according to the New York Times. A total of 21 of those cases led to hospitalizations, including five admissions to the intensive care unit.
