Rebecca Bredow, of the
Detroit area, has has been sentenced to seven days in jail for refusing to
bring her child's vaccinations up to date.
Bredow appeared at a hearing on
Wednesday morning at the Oakland County Circuit Court where Judge Karen
McDonald sentenced her for contempt of court after Bredow refused to comply
with court orders for her to allow her son to receive all his missing
vaccinations within one week.
The mother of two told the judge
that she takes "full responsibility" for her actions and that
vaccinations go against her beliefs.
In an interview with ABC News
last week, Bredow said that she would "absolutely" rather go to jail
than allow her 9-year-old son to receive the swath of vaccinations in one week.
"I would rather go to jail
for standing up for what I believe in than vaccinating my child," Bredow
told ABC News, adding that she believes the decision to vaccinate a child is a
"personal choice."
Bredow is the primary caregiver
for the boy, though she shares legal custody with his father, her ex-husband
Jason Horne. Bredow said that when her son was much younger, she and Horne
originally agreed to space out vaccinations for him. She said that she was most
concerned about the grouping of vaccinations.
Michigan mom says she could face jail time for not vaccinating
her son
The state of Michigan allows
parents to opt-out of certain vaccines for non-medical reasons. The American Academy of Pediatrics emphasizes the safety and
importance of vaccines and recommends a schedule of when to provide them.
Last week, the court ordered
Bredow to bring the boy's vaccinations up to date according to the recommended
schedule and said she had one week to comply.
"Now I have four-and-a-half
business days ... to fully vaccinate, they want me to bring him up to the
fullest extent medically allowed, which would be up to eight vaccines, in one
dose," Bredow told ABC News. "This is supposed to be done before 9
a.m. on Wednesday."
"God forbid if he were to
be injured by a vaccine," she continued. "I would have to take care
of him."
The divorced parents have been
embroiled in a legal battle over several matters, according to Horne's attorney
Benton G. Richardson, the dispute over vaccinations for their son is one among
them.
Horne told the courts he now
wants the boy to receive all of the vaccinations recommended by his age and the
court ruled in his favor.
Court documents obtained by ABC
News state that Bredow was first asked to have the immunizations provided to
her son in November 2016.
While Bredow serves her
seven-day prison sentence, the child will be in the care of Horne. Bredow will
be back in court next week at a time to be determined.
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