Father to challenge court ruling on MMR vaccination

A father whose two children are in care and who opposes their receiving the MMR vaccination has brought High Court proceedings challenging a District Court judge’s refusal to put a stay on an order allowing the vaccinations to proceed. The High Court also granted a stay on immunisation pending further order.

The father wants a stay on the order, made in childcare proceedings, until another similar case has been decided by the Supreme Court.

Harmful
The children are aged three and five and their father says he does not want them to receive vaccinations because he believes they are harmful. The mother, who is estranged from her husband, wants the children vaccinated. The parties cannot be identified by order of the court.

Yesterday, Berenice McKeever, for the father, said the dispute about vaccination came before the District Court earlier this year and that court last month made orders permitting the vaccinations.

Decision
The judge had based his decision on a High Court decision made last May by Mr Justice Michael Moriarty who directed a boy should be vaccinated despite his mother's objection. In that case, the boy's father supported vaccination.

That ruling was appealed to the Supreme Court and judgment is pending. In this case, after the District Court ruled against the father, a stay on that ruling was refused. Her client had appealed the order to the Circuit Court which granted three weeks but the case was due back in December. She wanted orders requiring a stay until the Supreme Court had ruled on the other case. Mr Justice Micheal Peart granted leave to challenge the District Court ruling and a stay preventing the Circuit Court hearing the appeal until the Supreme Court ruled.