According to a news report on washingtonpost.com, divorced parents are heading to court to fight to stop their children from receiving the COVID vaccination. The issue is a national issue, and the report states that there has been a “surge in COVID-19 vaccine disputes.” the sensitive issue is causing stress to families, and some parents are willing to pay substantial legal fees to parents who want to exercise their “medical decision-making rights.”

The report states that some divorced parents want a court to determine whether their child or children should be vaccinated against the coronavirus. According to the news article, some parents are worried about the safety and efficacy of the vaccinations, while others fear for their children’s safety as reports of children being hospitalized for COVID-19 make national news.

In many cases, the divorced parents had previous agreements concerning whether or not to vaccinate their children while they were still married. However, some divorced parents have changed their mind about vaccinating their children after the FDA-approved vaccinations for small children. The legal battles are not only contentious, but both sides of the debate have plenty of information to back up their fears.

One family lawyer in Pennsylvania, Attorney Hillary Moonay, stated that her law office had received an enormous “uptick” in phone calls concerning parent’s rights and the coronavirus vaccines. Her law firm has been arguing multiple cases for parents. She states that the first issue to clarify is who has legal custody to make the medical decisions. She says that some parents have physical custody, but share legal custody. Shared Legal Custody means that the parents must agree on issues such as religious upbringing, medical care, and education. She also recommends that if divorcing parents have not finalized their divorce, they do not make a “unilateral decision concerning the child or children’s coronavirus vaccination.

Laws concerning non-custodial parent’s rights vary from state to state. If you have questions about your legal rights or if you need an advocate to fight for you and your child, call Attorney Alex Tyra today at (903) 753-7499.