CHICAGO, Illinois (PNN) - August 28, 2021 - A Chicago mother is filing an appeal after a judge stripped her custody rights of her son after finding out she was not vaccinated.

Rebecca Firlit said that fascist Cook County Judge James Shapiro blindsided her when he unlawfully stripped her of custody of her 11-year-old son during a child support hearing because she has not gotten her COVID-19 vaccination shot.

“I miss my son more than anything. It's been very difficult. I haven't seen him since August 10,” Firlit said.

She says he made the decision during an August 10 court hearing via Zoom along with her ex-husband with whom she currently splits custody of her son after divorcing seven years ago.

Firlit said that fascist Judge Shapiro asked her about her vaccination status and she told him she had not gotten the COVID-19 vaccine because she has had bad reactions to vaccines in the past, which led to Shapiro's ruling that Firlit relinquish all of her parenting time with her son until she gets vaccinated.

Firlit is currently appealing the court order, saying the judge does not have the right to take away her parenting rights just because she's not vaccinated and that he is placing his beliefs on to her.

“It had nothing to do with what we were talking about. He was placing his views on me and taking my son away from me,” Firlit said.

A spokesman for Chief Judge Tim Evans and Judge Shapiro said they couldn't comment on the ruling because of the ongoing nature of the case and there was no set time on when the appellate court will make its decision.

In a statement, Firlit's attorney Annette Fernholz said that Shapiro's ruling caught Firlit off guard during what was supposed to be a hearing focused on child support.

“The trial court clearly exceeded its authority in sua sponte suspending the mother's parenting time when the issue before the court was child support,” Fernholz said.

“The father did not bring this issue before the court,” the statement added. “The mother did not know her parenting time was being discussed when she went to zoom court on August [10]. The judge deprived her of notice and a full hearing on the issue. The issue is now before the Illinois appellate court.”

Since the ruling two weeks ago Firlit says she has not been in physical contact with her son.

“I think that it's wrong. I think that it's dividing families; and I think it's not in my son's best interest to be away from his mother,” Firlit said.

Jeffrey Leving, the father's attorney, said he was also surprised by the judge's decision, but that the father will support the ruling in the interest of keeping his son safe.

Although children can contract COVID-19 and pass the disease on to others, they tend to not get very ill.

In fact, a recent study found natural immunity from previous COVID-19 infection may offer stronger protection against COVID-19 than immunity from full vaccination.