The Supreme Court has overturned a lower court ruling that allowed New York State to impose vaccination mandates on Amish communities in violation of their religious convictions. The case, Miller v. McDonald, has been sent back to the Second Circuit for reconsideration, marking a significant victory for religious liberty. Forcing the Amish to violate their deeply held beliefs by submitting to pharmaceutical injections would have set a dangerous precedent for the erosion of religious and health freedom in America.
As detailed in the book Vaccines, Amen, the Amish—whose children remain unvaccinated—display markedly better health outcomes compared to the general vaccinated population. In the case brought by New York’s health department against three Amish schools, evidence demonstrated that among 168 unvaccinated Amish children, there were no instances of chronic health issues such as allergies, ADHD, asthma, or autism. By contrast, statistical expectations for a similarly sized group from the broader U.S. population would include numerous cases of these immune-related disorders.
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Rather than acknowledging the robust health of the Amish, New York officials aggressively sought to impose their own medical orthodoxy on this religious minority, threatening families with severe fines and disruption of their educational practices. This coercive approach exposed the ideological rigidity of public health authorities, who seem more committed to enforcing conformity than to evaluating actual health outcomes.
The Amish desire only to live peacefully according to their traditions, yet they have been forced into legal battles to protect their right to religious exemption. This case underscores a broader cultural tension between state power and individual conscience, particularly when the state’s demands conflict with demonstrable well-being and deeply rooted belief systems.
