Milford Church Files Suit Over Children's Vaccination Requirement

MILFORD, CT — A Milford church has filed a lawsuit against the state over vaccinating children attending its day care and preschool.

Pastor James Loomer of Milford Christian Church "is leading the charge against Connecticut’s 2021 repeal of religious exemptions to mandatory school vaccinations," according to a statement. The lawsuit is about "protecting the deeply held beliefs of local families who rely on MCC’s Little Eagles Daycare and Preschool."

A state inspector from the Office of Early Childhood required that children attending the day care have vaccinations, according to the statement.

The church contacted the legal group We the Patriots USA to file the lawsuit on its behalf.

Previous similar suits have been dismissed, according to CT News Junkie. However, the church now claims it is "bolstered by a June 2025 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Mahmoud v. Taylor, which affirms that parents have a First Amendment right to direct their children’s religious upbringing, even in schools."

But Attorney General William Tong responded in court that the Supreme Court's decision doesn't have any bearing on the case at hand, stating that “vaccination requirements do not involve the compelled learning regulations at issue in [the recent rulings] and therefore do not similarly interfere with parents,” according to WTNH News-8. Tong's office said he would defend the state's position on vaccine requirements.

The federal Centers for Disease Control (CDC) states that vaccines are "very safe" for children, with the most common side effects being very mild.

According to the CDC, "Without vaccines, your child is at risk for getting seriously ill and suffering pain, disability, and even death from diseases like measles and whooping cough."