In Lady Donna Dutchess v. Dutch, (AK, March 9, 2022), the Alaska Supreme Court upheld a trial court's decision awarding sole authority to make decisions regarding vaccinations to a divorced father. The mother objected to all vaccinations for the children on religious grounds. The mother contended that this violated her free exercise rights under the state and federal constitutions. Rejecting that argument, the Alaska Supreme Court said in part:
We are not convinced that heightened scrutiny necessarily applies to child custody determinations allocating decision-making authority between parents, nor did the parties brief this issue. We note that several other state courts have concluded that strict scrutiny does not apply to a custody determination between parents with divergent religious convictions.... [A] court’s application of custody statutes in a manner exhibiting “a preference for the religious over the less religious” would essentially place “government on the side of organized religion, a non-secular result that the establishment clause is designed to prevent.” ...[T]he superior court here properly considered how the mother’s desire not to vaccinate the children was contrary to the recommendation of the children’s pediatrician and counter to their best interests.
Even if we were to apply heightened scrutiny ... , the superior court’s ruling would withstand review. The Statehas “an undeniably compelling interest in protecting the health of minors.”
