The father of the girl - who was soon to start school - wanted her to get her shots, in line with Ministry of Health and World Health Organisation guidelines.
But the mother, who is strongly anti-vaccination, felt her daughter is at risk of an adverse reaction to immunisation thanks to "a strong personal and family history for dairy and gluten intolerance, eczema, food and chemical sensitivities and medication-adverse reactions".
The father filed an application in January 2018 under the Care of Children Act 2004 with a two-page affidavit outlining his reasoning. That October, the mother filed a 33-page affidavit in response, along with 150 pages of evidence.
These included a letter from the girl's GP, the results of genetic testing done by a naturopath, and "information obtained from her own research on the internet".
She also included an affidavit from Canadian professor Dr Christopher Shaw, who is well known for his anti-vaxx views.
The mother had sought to file evidence from another two US-based doctors, one of whom said the girl was at risk of allergic reactions to chemicals in the vaccines.
A preliminary hearing was held at the Waitakere Family Court in December to decide whether that evidence is admissible.
In her decision published in June, Judge Belinda Pidwell decided neither of those doctors had adequate knowledge of the New Zealand immunisation programme, neither had examined the girl directly and neither was fully credible.
Given the Court had already ordered a report from a New Zealand expert, she declined the mother's application to file additional evidence.
The judge said it was important to determine what was in the child's best interest, pointing out there was "a heightened risk to her, and other school children, whilst the issue remains undetermined. [She] poses a risk to other children whilst she is unimmunised, and she is susceptible to a range of illnesses".
The Court has not yet made a decision on whether the girl should be immunised.
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Good work dad !!!
Never let them convince you, that you are the lesser parent.
Sounds like you’ve been through a lot already and no doubt there will be more to come.
My thoughts are with you.
As soon as the term "genetic testing done by a naturopath, and information obtained from her own research on the internet" turned up....we all have to know mum's on the losing team. My wife was sure our 1 year old had eczema because of a gluten intolerance and despite a lack of evidence...she got talked into seeing a naturoquack by someone in "the know". We might as well have thrown the $75.00 into a fire and tried to read the smoke coming off it....and the "testing" , for want of a better phrase was akin to voodoo. Yes, was the answer, and a mighty allergy it was was going to be for all eternity. What a crock and he grew out of his baby eczema. 13 years later-and after series of prick tests analyzed by a lab, we know he has no food allergies but is still undergoing bee desensitization through the GP (recommended by a specialist after an anaphylactic reaction to a bee sting). Science vs best guess...science should win out every time, especially when it comes to child health and welfare.