UPDATE: A Michigan women has been jailed for seven days for refusing to have her son vaccinated.
An Oakland County Circuit Court judged sentenced Rebecca Bredow, on Wednesday, reported the Detroit News.
The judge also awarded temporary custody of the child to his father—who initiated legal proceedings—until all of his vaccinations are up to date.
“It’s clear to me you don’t care about (court) orders, even if you agree to them,” Judge Karen McDonald said at the hearing Wednesday. “You’ve repeatedly stated over the past several days publicly that you will not follow this court order, so I’m sentencing you to seven days in jail.”
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Rebecca Bredow and her now ex-husband agreed to space out vaccines for their son when he was born. But as time went by, Bredow studied the safety of vaccines in great detail and decided to stop vaccinating her boy.
The father did not take issue with that decision initially but later changed his mind. The two could not reach an agreement and took the battle to court. Now a judge has sided with the father and ordered Bredow to vaccinate her child or face jail time.
“I would rather sit behind bars for standing up for what I believe in than giving into something I strongly don’t believe in,” Bredow told WXYZ-TV. “God forbid he were to be injured by one of the vaccines. Then what? That’s what scares me.”
A research specialist processes blood samples taken from pregnant rhesus macaque monkeys infected with the Zika virus on June 28, 2016, in Madison, Wis. (Scott Olson/Getty Images)Bredow believes every parent should have a choice when it comes to vaccinating their children. When she took a deep dive into vaccines she concluded that using waivers for her boy would be the best choice.
“We’re fortunate in the state of Michigan that’s still permitted, still allow religious, personal, and medical exemptions for parents who chose to delay, to skip a vaccine to make various choices,” said Joel Dorfman, a Michigan lawyer.
But waivers can’t help Bredow since her ex-husband wants their boy vaccinated. Faced with the choice of having to side with one of the parents, the judge ruled in favor of the boy’s father.
“I feel angry. I feel backed into a corner,” Bredow said. “I feel like my rights as a parent have been taken away.”
Bredow, the primary caregiver for her two children, has until 9 a.m. on Oct. 11 to vaccinate her child or face jail time.
“Yes, every parent has a choice but we also have a right to have our voices heard. So why automatically side with the father that wants the vaccines,” Bredow said. “What about my choice as the mother who’s the primary caretaker, who solely takes care of my son.”
Bredow said the last thing she wants to do is go to jail, so she’ll be doing everything she can to avoid that. But if it comes down to it, she’ll go behind bars to stand by what she believes in.
“I believe in the choice of the parent to make the right decision based on their knowledge of vaccines,” Bredow said.
