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In a terrible turn of events, the first case of a judge blocking a parent from seeing their child because of vaccination status has actually happened in the United States. During a virtual court case in Chicago, Cook County Judge James Shapiro granted himself the authority to block a Mother, Rebecca Firlit, from being able to see her child until she became vaccinated. The hearing was originally intended to focus on child support between the split parents, but it quickly descended into absurdity as the Judge took the focus of the case away from support for the child and into health mandate lunacy. While the Father is vaccinated, according to The Chicago Sun Times, the Mother has chosen to remain unvaccinated due to personal health concerns. Despite her claim to have adverse reactions to vaccines in the past, and a recommendation from her doctor not to take the vaccine, the Judge showed no concern for her personal health and ordered that she not be able to see her 11-year-old son again until she got the vaccine. Rebecca Firlit told the Sun Times that, “I was confused because it was just supposed to be about expenses and child support. I asked him (the Judge) what it had to do with the hearing, and he said ‘I am the judge, and I make the decisions for your case.” The original hearing was on August 10th, but Firlit is attempting to appeal the decision, believing that Judge Shapiro has stepped out of the bounds of his authority. Her attorney Annette Fernholz told WFLD the ruling was unjust, saying that, “The father did not even bring this issue before the court. So it’s the judge on his own and making this decision that you can’t see your child until you’re vaccinated.” Rebecca Firlit told the Sun Times, “I feel like this will resonate with people because this is how things will go if we don’t speak up. Dividing families, taking children from their parents, we have to speak out to make sure this is not the new thing. Unfortunately, I had to be the first person that this happened to, but parents aren’t going to stand for that.” For now, she can only speak to her son on the phone, saying about the experience that, “I talk to him every day. He cries, he misses me.” Hopefully this remains the only case of something such as this occurring, but it also personally feels like a bad omen for the future and an awful instance of the potential for abuse when it comes to the misuse of judicial power over families. I hope she finds justice and is able to see her son again, and I hope this doesn’t happen to anyone else in America. |
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