(WHDH) — A couple with three young children say they plan to quit their jobs, sell their home, move out of state and home-school their kids because they do not believe in vaccinations.
Syracuse.com reports that Robert and Gretchen Thompson will not be sending their children to school in September because New York state recently repealed a religious exemption that allowed their kids to go to school without being vaccinated.
New York’s new vaccination law does not apply to home-schooled children, according to the news outlet. It state’s that unvaccinated students must be vaccinated within the first 14 days of school or they will be kicked out.
The couple plans to uproot their lives and start fresh in a new state because vaccinations violate their religious beliefs.
““I’m not an anti-vaxxer, I’m an ex-vaxxer,” Gretchen told the news outlet. “It’s completely my responsibility what goes into these children who are a gift from God.”
Gretchen says her stance on vaccinations took a turn eight years ago when her oldest son was sickened and hospitalized for a month after getting an HPV shot.
The Thompson children are among 26,000 in New York who lost religious exemptions.
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