A South Carolina family at the center of the state’s fast-growing measles outbreak is facing fierce public backlash after revealing they would not have vaccinated their 7-year-old son, even after he developed a rare and life-threatening brain complication.
In an article published by The Independent, Spartanburg County parents Kristina and Luis shared the story of their son Ethan, who was hospitalized with measles encephalitis, a condition that causes swelling and inflammation of the brain. Though doctors say Ethan is now showing signs of improvement, he was at one point unable to move his body and required intensive care after his heart rate dropped dangerously low.
About one in 1,000 measles cases results in encephalitis, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition can lead to permanent brain damage and is fatal in up to 15 percent of cases.
Ethan was not vaccinated against measles. Three of his brothers also contracted the virus during the outbreak, which has resulted in 962 confirmed cases in South Carolina since September 2025—913 of them in Spartanburg County. State health officials report that the overwhelming majority of cases have occurred in unvaccinated individuals.
Despite their son’s ordeal, Ethan’s mother told The Independent that even knowing the outcome, she “still wouldn’t have given my son the vaccine,” citing concerns about vaccine ingredients and a belief that the situation is in God’s hands.
That stance has ignited outrage across South Carolina, particularly in online forums where residents are grappling with the human toll of declining vaccination rates.
“This is child abuse,” one Reddit user wrote in a thread discussing the article over on the South Carolina subreddit. “How is this not child abuse?” asked another, pointing not only to the decision to forgo vaccination but also to the parents’ delay in seeking specialized hospital care as Ethan’s condition worsened.
Others expressed heartbreak for the child’s future. “He didn’t deserve this,” one commenter wrote, while another warned that encephalitis can leave lasting neurological damage. Some called for intervention from child protective services, arguing that medical neglect should carry legal consequences.
The anger was not limited to vaccination alone. Several users questioned the consistency of rejecting a preventive vaccine while accepting intensive hospital treatments such as plasma exchange therapy. “Plasma treatments are okay but not a vaccine that could have prevented all of this,” one South Carolina commenter wrote.
Medical experts emphasized that the MMR vaccine is one of the most extensively studied and safest vaccines available. They warn that as vaccination rates decline, severe cases like Ethan’s will likely become more common.
For many South Carolinians watching the outbreak unfold, the story has sparked a broader debate about parental rights, public health, and the consequences of misinformation.
