A judge denied a request by a devout Catholic mom on Staten Island for an injunction that would allow her daughter to return to school while the family’s lawsuit against the city over vaccines is heard.
Dina Check, of West Brighton, is suing to force the city to let her 5-year-old daughter into class even though the child hasn’t had her shots.
Check, who says she is against vaccination on religious grounds, asked the court to let the girl back into PS 35 while the case winds its way through court.
A Brooklyn federal judge denied the request, ruling that Check’s argument that she doesn’t want her daughter vaccinated for religious reasons is not persuasive.
“This court has no doubt that [Check] is a deeply religious woman whose religion plays an important, and even central, role in her life. However, not every belief held by a religious person is a religious belief,” Judge Sandra Townes wrote.
In emotional testimony earlier this year, Check said she was worried that because her daughter’s suffers from immune deficiencies and gastrointestinal problems, vaccination posed a serious medical risk for the girl.
The judge noted that while religious exemptions can be made under the law to allow children to attend school without required shots, Check’s opposition to vaccines seems to be grounded in concerns about her daughter’s health – and not religious principle.
“The court concludes that [Check’s] aversion to vaccinations for her child stems from her personal fear for her child’s well-being and not a religious belief such that she is entitled to a religious exemption,” the judge wrote.
The ruling only addresses Check’s request for an emergency injunction after her daughter was barred from campus earlier this year when the mother refused to vaccinate her.
The lawsuit Check filed against the city is still pending trial.
mmaddux@nypost.com