Isaac Ihben: 5-year-old boy force-vaccinated due to judge's order develops severe regressive autism after 12 days in ICU

This abuse of judicial power MUST STOP. Find out how you can help.

Isaac Ihben was five years old when his parents were going through a divorce in Fentress County, Tennessee. David Ihben and his now ex-wife had always agreed not to vaccinate their children. David had never been vaccinated and all three of the couple’s children were vaccine-free in December of 2019, when their parents were forced into making the most difficult decision of their lives. The family, previously from Illinois, had moved to rural Tennessee in 2016, in an attempt to simplify their lives and pursue the country life. By 2019, the parents were embroiled in divorce proceedings, with the custody of their three children hanging in the balance.

As David Ihben reports in this interview with Polly Tommey, even though there was much the couple could not agree on - hence the divorce proceedings - they continued to be on the same page when it came to the vaccination status of their children. Unfortunately for the children, their parents’ divorce case was assigned to Judge Todd Burnett, a very pro-vaccine judge who put the parents in an almost unimaginable situation. Burnett’s decree from the bench:

Vaccinate these children today or lose them to the foster care system!

David Ihben and his two older children report that immediately following the court proceedings, their mother took them to be vaccinated. Isaac and his older brother reportedly received 17-18 vaccines on that day, per the CDC’s Catch-up Schedule. Their sister received about half the amount, due to concerns about her having pre-existing allergies, so it was decided that vaccines for her would be divided between two appointments.

Here is the current (2024) CDC Catch-up Schedule, which shows the vaccines and the timing of when they should be administered:

It has been reported that Isaac received 18 vaccines on that day. His older brother and sister recall the number as being 17, which seems likely. As David Ihben reports in the interview, he doesn’t know what actually happened, because he was slapped with a restraining order and was not allowed to see his children for six months after they were vaccinated. Mr. Ibhen still has not seen the records. His older children have related the facts to him, as best they can recall.

Isaac became immediately ill and was hospitalized in intensive care for twelve days with a fever of up to 106.5 degrees. He was never the same after Judge Burnett’s vaccine mandate. Prior to the vaccinations at age five, Isaac was reportedly a healthy, normally functioning child. After the vaccinations, he became extremely ill, and was diagnosed with severe, regressive autism. Now, at the age of ten, he is non-verbal, requires round-the-clock care and close supervision, and receives ABA, OT, PT, and Speech Therapy. He is bottle-fed and is not potty trained, requiring his father to set an alarm to change him every two hours, round-the-clock.

Judge Burnett awarded full custody to the children’s mother, after threatening to put the children in foster care in Memphis if neither parent agreed to his demands of forced vaccination. Mrs. Ihben complied, rather than losing the children altogether. As Mr. Ihben relates, shortly after the medical assault and Isaac’s regression, his ex-wife was evicted from her home. She returned the children to their father and then disappeared. She has not been seen or heard from since.

The children have been with their father for the last five years. Mr. Ihben is unable to work consistently due to the level of care Isaac requires. He is still mandated to pay child support through the court and has reportedly been told that the order cannot be altered without his ex-wife being present. Since he does not know where she is, this has been a problem.

This case makes my blood boil. And it’s not an isolated case. I cannot tell you how many times I have been contacted over the years by parents who are in similar situations. I have received two of these messages just this month.

I have only been actively involved in one of these situations. It was when I was in Indiana. The child in question was a twelve-year-old girl. It was one of the most stressful things I have ever done. For months, I worked with the mother and her attorney, trying to help educate the father. Ultimately, the information was sufficient, and he loved his daughter enough that they were able to come to an agreement through mediation, and she was not force-vaccinated. It did not go to court. If it had, the outcome would almost certainly have been different for her. My friend and colleague, Dr. Toni Bark took these cases and fought as hard as she could for the children. When Toni was dying from cancer a few years ago, she attributed the stress of these custody cases as being a major contributing factor to her illness. I believe it. It is horrific knowing that despite all your best efforts, you are likely fighting a losing battle, and it is the children who will suffer.

In the majority of these cases, the parents agreed not to vaccinate the children. Until the divorce. Then, one parent - often on the advice of their attorney - uses vaccination status as a weapon against the other parent. It’s not about what’s best for the children. It’s about winning. It’s about hurting the other parent.

This should NOT be happening.

There are no other laws regarding vaccination status of children, other than for school attendance. In Tennessee, where this case took place, the law provides for both medical and religious exemptions. Mr. and Mrs. Ihben were following the law. They had religious exemptions for their children to attend school.

Judge Burnett overstepped his authority, and it appears he is continuing to overstep and threaten this family, as Mr. Ihben reports he has been harassed and threatened if he went public with this story. Judge Burnett inserted his own, personal beliefs and mandated vaccinations that have decimated the lives of Mr. Ihben and his three children. Mr. Ihben reportedly cannot even obtain the medical records for his own son. How can he move forward with appropriate medical care for his severely injured son, when he does not have access to the medical records?

Judge Burnett needs to be reported for judicial misconduct.

Here is where you can go to file a complaint.

Emily Wright, the mother’s attorney, should have objected to the judge’s order. She did not. Like the mother in this case, Ms. Wright also appears to have disappeared. I am sharing what I have been able to find about her, so that other parents will know who they are dealing with if they have to face this attorney in divorce court.

What can we do to change this?

A long-time Facebook friend, Lori Gilbert Lee, has the answer. We need to pass laws in every state, barring the use of vaccination status as a weapon in divorce/custody cases. Lori worked with like-minded folks and legislators in Montana last year (2023) and got HB684 passed.

AN ACT PROHIBITING USE OF VACCINATION STATUS IN CERTAIN ADMINISTRATIVE AND LEGAL PROCEEDINGS RELATED TO CHILDREN AND INCAPACITATED ADULTS; AND PROVIDING AN IMMEDIATE EFFECTIVE DATE.

We all need to band together and do this in EVERY STATE. If you already have a group of like-minded people in your state, call today to schedule visits with your elected legislators. Use Montana’s HB684 as a template. Get this done. If you don’t already have a group of like-minded friends, you can find one by signing up at NVIC’s Advocacy Portal and joining the group for your state.

Let’s get this done.