Members of New York’s 25,000-strong Amish community have threatened to leave the state over a school vaccine mandate.
The battle started after a measles outbreak that overtook New York’s Orthodox Jewish community in 2019, prompting then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo to eliminate religious exemptions to the state’s school immunization requirements.
Small, privately funded Amish schools subsequently refused to enforce the mandate on account of their religious beliefs, to which the state responded by issuing hefty $2,000 noncompliance fines.
The schools eventually sued.
🚨 Leave the Amish alone. 🇺🇸
New York’s Amish community is fighting school vaccine mandates on religious grounds. Religious liberty shouldn’t depend on government convenience.
Let families live their faith in peace. 🙏 Freedom of religion means freedom for ALL. pic.twitter.com/8HfAtAdAhT
— John _f_ Kennedy JR (@John_fk_jr7) August 27, 2026
“Three schools listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit—Shady Lane school in Clymer, NY; Pleasant View in Heuvelton, NY and Dygert Road School near Canajoharie—together have racked up $118,000 in fines,” according to the New York Post.
They’re being represented by attorney Hiram Sasser.
“Have we gotten to a place where we aren’t going to make room for the Amish anymore?” Sasser rhetorically asked the Post. “When you think of Americana—apple pie, fireworks—the Amish are on that list. They’re part of the American fabric. They’re a good litmus test of our religious liberty and our tolerance.”
“Watch ‘Little House on the Prairie.’ It’s the one-room schoolhouse and Laura Ingalls Wilder teaching the kids. It’s a way of life that used to predominate across America, but the Amish are still holding on to it. We’ve acknowledged that as a nation and given them their space this whole time. And now that’s being tested,” he added.
Thus far, the case, Miller v. McDonald, has not proceeded to the Amish’s liking.
First, the Second Circuit ruled against them, after which the Supreme Court sent the case back and told the appeals court to look again. The Second Circuit then restated its original decision. The Amish intend to make a formal request next month for the Supreme Court to take the case.
A federal appeals court has reaffirmed New York’s strict school-vaccination requirements, dealing a setback to Amish families seeking religious exemptions. In Miller v. McDonald, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit ruled that the state’s elimination of religious… pic.twitter.com/Vf6EJV29pD
— Dr. Lynn Fynn-derella (ret) 🐭 (@Fynnderella1) July 24, 2026
Although the Amish generally avoid getting involved in litigation, their attorneys said they felt they had no other option. The plaintiffs themselves felt so bad about things that they even wrote an apology letter.
“We, as a peace loving religious group, are sincerely sorry that we are causing the state a prob,” plaintiff Ezra Wengerd wrote in a handwritten letter shared with the Post. “We are indeed grateful to the state of NY for the many privileges freedoms and protections they have blessed us with, for many years.”
“Our Almighty God wants us to fully put our faith and trust in Him. Which is in conflict to put our trust in vaccines. We are also commanded to not be conformed to this world,” he added.
The plaintiffs’ lawyers added that the Amish can’t pay the accumulating fines without losing land, which is why they intend to permanently leave the state if the Supreme Court doesn’t come to their rescue.
The good news is that the Amish have a strong legal record.
“In Minnesota, Ohio and Pennsylvania, Amish plaintiffs prevailed in state-level cases from the 1980s to 2020s involving photo IDs, buggy safety equipment and building codes,” according to the Post.
The bad news is that they don’t have a slam dunk case this time around, according to Wayne State University law professor Christopher Lund.
“The claim in these cases is: you are only entitled to a religious exemption if the law isn’t neutral or generally applicable,” he told the Post. “The argument the plaintiffs are making here is, if you’re going to exempt people with medical needs, you also need to exempt people with religious needs.”
Furthermore, the Second Circuit has a lengthy record of “slapping down people who’ve challenged vaccine mandates,” according to the Post.
According to Lund, it also doesn’t help that vaccine mandates are a topic that the high court would rather avoid.
“I think the [Supreme] court’s always been hesitant about vaccination cases,” he said. “And when we had church closure cases during COVID the court showed a lot of deference to medical authorities.”
“But the state isn’t just thinking about the Amish, it’s thinking about everyone together. I think the Amish are probably a very sympathetic set of plaintiffs, but the state is thinking more widely,” he added.
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V. Saxena is a staff writer with a decade of experience as a professional writer, and a lifetime of experience as an avid news junkie. He holds a degree in computer technology from Purdue University. Saxena also contributes to BizPac Review.
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