Chicago mother separated from her son by judge until she gets COVID-19 vaccine

A mother in Illinois isn't allowed to see her own son in person due to a court order that stipulates she needs to get vaccinated against COVID-19 first.

In an exclusive interview with Fox 32 Chicago, parent Rebecca Firlit told reporters how she hasn't seen her 11-year-old son in nearly three weeks now because of the decision made by a Cook County judge.

Before this, the mother and father had equal time granted with the child.

On Aug. 10, Judge James A. Shapiro stripped custody rights away from the mother because she hadn't been vaccinated against COVID-19.

"Firlit told Shapiro she had not because she has had bad reactions to vaccines in the past," the story explains.

Now Firlit has only been allowed to talk to her son via video or phone calls.

Firlit says it's wrong for the judge to place his personal views on her as a form of punishment.

The attorney representing Firlit says Judge Shapiro doesn't have the authority to do this, and is appealing the court order:

"In this case you have a judge, without any matter before him regarding the parenting time with the child deciding 'Oh, you're not vaccinated. You don't get to see your child until you are vaccinated.' That kind of exceeds his jurisdiction."

The attorney representing the father in the matter was also shocked at the move by the judge, but ultimately agrees that the mother should be vaccinated for the sake of protecting the child during the pandemic.

A story in a similar vein cropped up at the beginning of this month when an Ohio judge mandated a defendant get vaccinated within 60 days of his court appearance or face jail time.