Once the shot was available, Mr. Rogers filed for a family court hearing and flagged it ex parte, or urgent. The judge disagreed with the urgency.
“It was a rubber stamp that was literally refused, with a stamp on it saying ‘no urgent circumstances,'” said Mr. Rogers. “And I was like, of course there are urgent circumstances. We have a global pandemic, we need to get these children vaccinated as soon as possible.”
When contacted, Mr Rogers’ ex-girlfriend declined to comment.
But at a court hearing in mid-February, the judge granted Mr. Rogers decision-making power on vaccination issues, and the boy has now been vaccinated. “It’s really what the judge says. Whatever this one man thinks, that’s what happens,” Mr. Rogers said, pointing out that he still doesn’t quite understand why he was able to move forward.
That kind of clarification is needed, says Tim Miranda, co-founder of Antonyan Miranda, a family law firm in San Diego. “If the court doesn’t specifically order things like medical care, then either parent can individually take whatever action they want in that area.” Parents currently navigating the custody process should be clear with their legal teams if they disagree with their ex’s vaccination stance, Mr Miranda said, and be prepared to argue why they, and not the other parent, should be assigned with medical decision-making authority for their child. They also need to be sure that their pediatrician or therapist has views that match their own.
“The courts place a high value on the treating therapist or physician because they are the ones acting in the patient’s domain,” said Mr. Miranda. “The norm is to decide what is in the best interests of the child.” However, if parents cannot agree on what “main” means, courts generally choose to give one of the parents the authority to make the decision, as they did with Mr. Rogers.
Laws vary slightly from state to state, Mr Miranda said, but in general it’s a pretty high bar with something like a vaccination. If you want to oppose it, you have to have a pretty good reason, such as a religious belief or a medical condition.”
The American Academy of Pediatrics has no official position on vaccinating children in child custody situations, said Dr. Tiffany Kimbrough, an AAP member and medical director of the mother-child division of the medical center at Virginia Commonwealth University. (However, they state, “It is prudent for the physician, if relevant, to inquire about marital status and custody issues” in this 2017 report.)
