By Chris Kenning<\/p>\n
(Reuters) – A Detroit mother must vaccinate her 9-year-old son by next week under a judge’s order or she could go to jail, according to media reports.<\/p>\n
Rebecca Bredow, a mother of two, told WXYZ-TV on Wednesday that she had one week to get her son vaccinated under an Oakland County judge’s order as part of legal fight with her ex-husband.<\/p>\n
“I would rather sit behind bars for standing up for what I believe in, than giving into something I strongly don’t believe in,” she told the station. “God forbid he were to be injured by one of the vaccines. Then what? That’s what scares me.”<\/p>\n
Bredow and her ex-husband, James Horne, separated in 2008 and have joint legal custody, according to ABC-TV. She says he wants their son to receive all of his vaccinations but she is opposed.<\/p>\n
State law requires each student in public and private schools to possess a certificate of immunization. The American Academy of Pediatrics website stresses the importance and safety of vaccines on its website.<\/p>\n
Michigan, however, also allows parents to get a vaccination waiver for medical, religious or philosophical issues, according to the website M-live. It was unclear whether Bredow has sought a waiver, and her attorney could not immediately be reached.<\/p>\n
Benton Richardson, a lawyer for Horne – told ABC-TV that a court sided with Horne in November of 2016, ordering Bredow to vaccinate her son. Horne’s name was listed as James in court records but ABC reported his name as Jason.<\/p>\n
“It is our position that this case is not truly about vaccinations,” Richardson said. “It is a case about Ms. Bredow refusing to comport with any number of the court’s orders and actively seeking to frustrate Mr. Horne’s joint legal custody rights.”<\/p>\n
(Reporting by Chris Kenning; Editing by Dan Grebler)<\/p>\n