Nebraska AG Mike Hilgers files amicus brief to Supreme Court, calling for approval of WV vaccination case

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — Nebraska Attorney General Mike Hilgers announced that he has filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Supreme Court.

An amicus brief, the Latin term for ‘friend of the court’, is a legal document given to a court by someone not involved in a lawsuit, wanting provide information or arguments regarding the case.

The amicus brief Hilgers filed is in support of the Krystal and Anthony Perry, who, according to the brief, are challenging West Virginia’s mandated vaccination law after their daughter’s school disenrolled her because they refused to vaccinate her.

According to Hilgers, the Perry’s believe vaccinations developed from the remains of aborted fetuses violate their Christian faith.

Hilgers, along with 16 other state attorney generals, are encouraging the U.S. Supreme Court to take the Perry’s case after lower courts rejected it.

The amicus brief brings two arguments to the U.S. Supreme Court; that parents have a historical right to direct the religious upbringing of their children and that the school district can prevent disease while leaving room for the Perry’s religious convictions.

“Our Nation has long defended the rights of parents to raise their children according to their faith,” Hilgers said. “The government can intrude upon this right only in the most pressing circumstances. Those circumstances do not include the vaccination status of a student doing school in her own home. Our office remains committed to supporting the constitutional rights of parents in Nebraska and beyond.”