When co-parenting goes south, it’s usually over bedtimes, new partners, or screen time rules. But for one Missouri father, the stakes are a whole lot higher. His ex has gone full anti-vaxxer, and it’s putting their kids’ health at risk.
In a Reddit post that’s sparking plenty of attention, this concerned dad laid it all out: he shares 50/50 joint custody with his ex-wife, including equal say over the kids’ medical care. According to their divorce decree, neither parent can make major medical decisions solo unless it’s an emergency. But recently, his ex dropped a bombshell. She’s now firmly in the anti-vaccine camp, and she’s not letting their children receive their scheduled immunizations.
Despite being “informed” of her decision after the fact, the Missouri dad attempted to reason with her. He even brought up the recent measles outbreak. However, she stood her ground, telling him point-blank that the only way those kids would get vaccinated is if he dragged her to court. “She said that she would sue me if I did so,” he explained. “She said the only way they were getting them is if I took her to court.”
Missouri Dad Wants To Fight Anti-Vax Ex
It’s a scenario that’s becoming more common in co-parenting arrangements, especially as health misinformation spreads faster than the flu. While many states give one parent authority over medical decisions in joint custody cases, others require consensus, meaning this dad can’t just take the kids in for shots without risking legal fallout. The question he’s now asking is whether vaccines could be considered “emergency care,” allowing him to act solo.
So now, the dad is stuck between a rock and a hard place. Does he let his kids, who he says are 3-year-old twin girls, remain vulnerable to preventable diseases, or lawyer up and take the fight to court? “I am just worried about my children,” he wrote, “and want to get this sorted out ASAP.”
He got plenty of responses to his plea for advice, and many told him to obtain a lawyer. However, after going through a divorce, he says his financial situation is limited, but wants to protect his kids against his ex’s “insane beliefs.”
The Internet Urges Legal Action
“I would just get the kids their shots and let mom try to get the court to find me in contempt. Mother unilaterally changed the status quo when she ‘recently became antivax,’ there was no joint decision on that,” one person commented.
“This is likely going to be an ever worsening problem. Conspiracy theorists tend to fall down a rabbit’s hole of deeper, more malign conspiracy theories. It’s Anti-vax today, could be anything tomorrow. Talk to a lawyer about your immediate options, and consider going for full custody, or at the very least, full medical-decision making,” suggested another.
“I’d sue for sole decision making rights. She’s off her rocker,” a third person wrote.
Parenting is hard enough without a public health battle in the mix. But this Missouri dad’s plea is a reminder that in the age of rising vaccine hesitancy, some parents are forced to fight not just for custody, but for the health of their children.
Hunter Spears 
Kenna Raye 
