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Chicago Judge Strips Mother Of Parental Rights For Being Unvaccinated

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A judge in Cook County Illinois (which includes Chicago and some of the surrounding area) has taken away the parental rights of a woman due to her refusal to get vaccinated, according to Fox in Illinois.

In what all parties agree is a very unusual and perhaps unprecedented step, a judge at Chicago’s Daley Center has stripped Rebecca Firlit of custody due to her refusal to get vaccinated.

“I miss my son more than anything. It’s been very difficult. I haven’t seen him since Aug. 10,” Firlit told a local Fox affiliate station in an interview.

That’s the day Firlit appeared in court via Zoom, accompanied by her ex-husband, for a child support hearing involving her 11-year-old son. The two have been divorced for seven years and share custody and parenting time. Out of the blue, Cook County Judge James Shapiro asked her whether she had been vaccinated. Firlit told Shapiro she didn’t get vaccinated because she has had bad reactions to vaccines in the past.

Shapiro then ordered that Firlit be prevented from spending parenting time with her son until she gets vaccinated. Over the past two weeks, Firlit has been able to talk to her son on the phone and through video calls, but has been unable to see him in person.

“I think that it’s wrong. I think that it’s dividing families. And I think it’s not in my son’s best interest to be away from his mother,” Firlit said.

Firlit is now appealing the court order, saying the judge has no authority to take away her parenting rights over her vaccination status.

“It had nothing to do with what we were talking about. He was placing his views on me. And taking my son away from me,” Firlit said.

Her attorney, Annette Fernholz, claimed the judge has overstepped his authority.

“In this case you have a judge, without any matter before him regarding the parenting time with the child deciding ‘Oh, you’re not vaccinated. You don’t get to see your child until you are vaccinated.’ That kind of exceeds his jurisdiction,” Fernholz said.

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