Chicago court banned mother from seeing son because she is not vaccinated against COVID-19

A divorced mother from Plzen (part of Chicago, Illinois) cannot visit her son because she is not vaccinated against COVID-19. This is considered by many to be the first of its kind. Writes about it Chicago Sun Times.

Photo: Shutterstock

On August 10, Cook County Judge James Shapiro banned Rebecca Firlit, the mother of an 11-year-old boy, from seeing her son.

Firlit's lawyer, Annette Fernholz, said her client and ex-husband had been divorced for seven years and shared custody of their son. Fernholz said the client's ex-husband did not raise the issue.

The judge asked Firlit if she was vaccinated during the child support hearing, and when she said no, the judge deprived her of all parenting time with her son until she was vaccinated.

“I have had adverse reactions to vaccines in the past and my doctor advised me not to get vaccinated. This creates a risk,” Firlit said.

Firlit, 39, said the judge took her by surprise and was shocked by the decision.

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“When we got on the Zoom call, the first thing he asked me was whether I was vaccinated or not, which surprised me,” Firlit said. “I was confused because the hearing was only supposed to be about expenses and child support. I asked him what that had to do with the hearing and he said, 'I'm the judge and I'm making decisions about your case.'"

Firlit said she believed Judge Shapiro was disappointed that the hearing had lasted several hours and that the lawyers were about to ask for an extension.

At the moment, she is forced to talk only with her son on the phone.

“I talk to him every day. He's crying, he misses me. I send him parcels,” says the mother.

Fernholz expressed hope that this week the court of appeal will join the case, which will overturn Shapiro's decision.

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“This far exceeds his judicial powers,” she said.

Jeffrey Leving introduces the boy's father, Matthew Diven. He said his client, who is vaccinated, would challenge his ex-wife's appeal.

“We support the judge’s decision,” Leving said.

Firlite said she was sure she would win.

“I feel like it will resonate with people if we don’t talk about it,” she said.

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