Parents who decline the vitamin K shot for their newborn are discovering that the consequences can go well beyond a conversation with a nurse.

A couple was sued after doctors called Child Protective Services and had their newborn removed from them for refusing the vitamin K injection. That case made headlines, and it is not an isolated incident. ICAN legal team receives calls about this regularly from families navigating the same situation.

The vitamin K shot is not classified as a vaccine, which means the religious and medical exemption frameworks that apply to vaccines do not automatically protect parents who decline it. Hospital bioethicists have shown a willingness to escalate quickly when parents opt out of routine newborn interventions entirely, and families are often not aware of that risk until they are already in the middle of it.

Do your research before your delivery date. Know your rights and know what you are consenting to.

@delbigtree