On November 27, 2001, Lynn Friedman, D.C., on behalf of her son Luke Friedman, filed suit against her son's school district for refusing to grant religious exemptions to forced inoculations.

Named in the suit were the Clarkstown Central School District and the New York State Department of Health.

New York state law requires school-aged children to be subjected to a laundry list of various vaccinations. State law provides exemptions to the vaccinations for medical reasons and to those who object based on religious grounds.

Dr. Friedman's son Luke is a kindergarten student at Lakewood Elementary School and his parents are opposed to immunizations for religious reasons. According to the Liberty Counsel, whose attorneys are representing the plaintiff, the Friedmans "believe the body is the temple of God and that they should not defile their body by injecting it with artificial toxins."

Friedman filed a request with the school district to be exempted from immunizations for religious reasons. The Department of Health regulations state that a school district can require "supporting documentation" of a religious belief to determine whether an individual is entitled to an exemption from vaccinations.

The school district required Friedman to respond to a lengthy questionnaire concerning her religious beliefs and to submit to a deposition under oath regarding her religious beliefs.

The Liberty Counsel states that during the deposition she was asked detailed and intrusive questions about her religious beliefs. The school district then denied her religious exemption and Luke was expelled from school on November 21, 2001.

The lawsuit claims the school board violated a state law which requires the board to grant exemptions based upon religious objections to inoculations. The lawsuit also claims the Department of Health Regulations are unconstitutional because they allow school districts to subject parents to inquisitions regarding their religious beliefs and give the school district the opportunity to determine whether an individual's religious belief are orthodox or are entitled to protection.

Attorney Mathew D. Staver, President and

General Counsel of Liberty Counsel, said, "The Clarkstown Central School District, with the support and authority of the State Department of Health, is requiring Mrs. Friedman to abandon her religious beliefs in exchange for receiving a public education. This the Board cannot do."

Staver also stated, "Subjecting parents to detailed and intrusive investigations, such as what Mrs. Freidman encountered, not only violates the United States Constitution's guarantee of religious freedom, but also hearkens back to the Inquisition. The Supreme Court stated long ago that no government official may determine what is orthodox in religion."