S.A. court hears case on foster parent vaccination
Caregivers’ medical condition leads judge to reverse decision that would have removed child from unvaccinated family
SAN ANTONIO — In the latest skirmish over whether COVID-19 vaccines should be required, an attorney asked a Bexar County court to remove a 5-year-old boy from his unvaccinated foster parents’ San Antonio area home.
Senior Judge Susan Reed initially ruled the child should be removed from the home, but she reversed her decision this week after learning the foster parents have a medical condition that prompted their reluctance to get the shots. She decided to leave the child in their custody.
Local attorney William “Bill” Keiler, who represents the boy, is considering whether to appeal Reed’s ruling issued late Monday.
The decision in Bexar County Children’s Court followed a 90minute court hearing last week, during which Keiler urged moving the boy elsewhere to protect his health and safety.
“If this child gets sick or, heaven help us, something worse happens, we’re all going to have to pay for this,” Keiler said at the hearing.
But Texas Child Protective Services conservatorship specialist Gaby Moreno, who handles the boy’s case, opposed that idea, noting the boy is happy and thriving in his current foster home, and argued that removing him from that environment would be detrimental. Hearst Newspapers is not publishing the child’s name to protect his privacy.
Reed, a former Bexar County district attorney, wasn’t required to explain her ruling. She declined to comment this week.
Richard and Barbara Bernhardt, the boy’s foster parents, said they haven’t been vaccinated because they each have celiac disease, an autoimmune condition that makes them sensitive to some medications.
Richard Bernhardt, 53, later said he planned to get his first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine Oct. 7.
His 51-year-old wife hasn’t changed her mind on refusing the shot, he said.
Children under 12 years old can’t yet receive COVID-19 vaccines, making them vulnerable to the virus. A vaccine for younger children is expected to become available later this year.
COVID-19 vaccines are widely available for adults, but the Bernhardts expressed concern about how those shots could potentially affect them because of their medical condition.
The Bernhardts have been caring for the 5-year-old boy at their San Antonio area home intermittently for more than two years.
Keiler, who is also a former foster parent, serves as the child’s attorney and guardian ad litem. Every child taken into CPS custody is automatically assigned a guardian ad litem to represent the youth’s best interest.
The attorney initially approved of the Bernhardts as suitable care providers for his 5-year-old client. But Keiler said he became troubled when he learned in recent weeks that the couple hadn’t received any COVID-19 vaccines.
COVID-19 vaccine requirements have fueled political polarization in Texas and around the country in recent months. President Joe Biden is pushing vaccine mandates as the number of people voluntarily seeking to be inoculated has dwindled. However, Gov. Greg Abbott vowed to fight those federal efforts and has barred Texas cities, counties and school districts from making the vaccines a requirement.
Keiler told Reed during the court hearing that the Bernhardts “refused” to get vaccinated when he pressed them to do so. The attorney filed a court motion on Sept. 17 that sought to place the child with other caregivers vaccinated for COVID-19 or require the Bernhardts to get the shots.
“It’s upsetting to me to have to bring this motion,” Keiler told Reed during Friday’s hearing. “But … I’m in charge of this kid. And this kid is living in a home now where the parents refuse to get vaccinated.”
Richard Bernhardt denied ever refusing the vaccine and said he only wanted more time to research how the shot might affect him.
The child’s biological mother watched the hearing online but did not testify. Her attorney, Claire Hargrove, supported removing the boy from the foster home if the caregivers didn’t get vaccinated.
“I don’t think that it is unreasonable to ask foster parents who are supposed to keep these kids safe to take a federally approved vaccination to aid in that effort,” Hargrove argued.