That includes protection from an adverse action while their exemptions are in process, a key part of the complaint, according to one of the attorneys on the lawsuit, which alleges that the plaintiffs have been removed from their jobs, flagged for promotion or otherwise hampered during the exemption process. The government has recently ordered imminent punitive action against those men and women of faith who cannot in good conscience take these experimental vaccines, and this order stops the government in its tracks, Adam Hochschild, a lawyer with the Thomas More Society and lead counsel in Air Force Officer v. Austin, said in a release. The US military has approved religious exemptions to its Covid-19 vaccine mandate for 15 service members out of approximately 16,000 requests, according to the latest data from the services. The Bonkers Lawsuit to Stop the Pentagon's Vaccine Mandate The government burdens religion when it put[s] substantial pressure on an adherent to modify his behavior and to violate his beliefs.. Pope Francis has called vaccination against COVID-19 a moral obligation and an act of love., Frequently people let themselves be influenced by the ideology of the moment, often bolstered by baseless information or poorly documented facts, he said in January, adding that vaccines are not a magical means of healing, yet surely they represent, in addition to other treatments that need to be developed, the most reasonable solution for the prevention of the disease.. More than 8,400 troops were forced out of the military for refusing to obey a lawful order when they declined to get the vaccine. Lawsuits over military vaccine mandate to continue despite DOD All rights reserved. But the administration won at least a temporary, partial victory last March when the Supreme Court approved a partial stay. The order allowed the Navy to consider the sailors vaccination status in making decisions on deployment, assignment and other operational issues while the case plays out. And, in fact, the Department of Defense allows medical exemptions and administrative exemptions from the vaccine. On August 30, both Robert and Mulvihill asked U.S. District Court Judge Raymond Moore for a temporary restraining order regarding the vaccinations for military members who have already been. The Justice Department intends to appeal the Texas ruling, while a temporary injunction in the Florida case expires Friday. Assuming, maybe Im assuming too much. In one of many ongoing federal lawsuits challenging COVID-19 vaccine mandates across the country, Judge Reed O'Connor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a group . I think one of the militarys concerns is whats the limiting principle here? It also allows them to restrict sailors' movement "in order to comply with host nation quarantine regulations.". Each of those shots also involves cell tissue derived from fetuses, as does one version of the rabies vaccine. Members of the U.S. military who haven't been vaccinated against COVID-19 are starting to face the consequences. More than 60 service members have joined lawsuits against the U.S. government, alleging that the military's process for awarding religious vaccine exemptions is a sham. Read Next: The Navy's Top Enlisted Sailor Is Ready for You to Ask Him Anything. Based on his Roman Catholic Christian faith and absolute opposition to abortion, he cannot accept a vaccine that has been manufactured, or whose efficacy has been tested and proved, using aborted fetal cells, the Florida lawsuit alleges, on behalf of a Coast Guard pilot. Vaccine Mandates in the Military: Litigation Over - Bill of Health Mike Barry: Probably not at the Supreme Court level. It is not yet clear how the various services will handle pending lawsuits that sprang up in the years following the Pentagon's COVID-19 vaccine mandate. President Joe Biden signed the. To date, no members of the Army or Space Force have received a religious exemption, though nine airmen and three Marines have been approved. The . All told the lawsuit includes 26 SEALs from the original complaint, plus five special warfare combatant crewmen, five divers and one explosive ordnance disposal technician who joined the case in late January. Theyre basically saying, Nope, the vaccine is the only way that were going to allow you to continue to remain in the service. And one of the things I forgot to mention was the whole concept of natural immunity. 16 Service Members Sue to Halt DoD's Vaccine Order | Military.com CBC News reached out multiple times to Galati, who is listed as the spokesperson for the lawsuit in a press release issued by Vaccine Choice Canada. Theyre not pleasant. Plaintiffs do not believe that staying true to their faith means exposing themselves or others to unnecessary risk, according to the filing. This whole thing is really unprecedented, right? The Navy has, however, granted medical exemption requests submitted by other personnel. For a population accustomed to having very little power over their personal decisions where they live, what they wear, how they cut their hair, how much they weigh the opportunity to have some control over their medical decisions is an enormous discovery. I think we win under the First Amendment, because you have individualized exemptions with medical exemptions, but not religious exemptions.. The temporary restraining order means the military cannot punish airmen and Space Force guardians whose application for a religious exemption to one of the federally endorsed vaccines was denied or is still being processed. The first lawsuit to garner national attention, filed in Texas late last year, made a splash because its plaintiffs include SEALs, among the most elite of the militarys special operations forces. Of course, that came because of a federal judges ruling. COVID-19 vaccine mandate for Air National Guard spurs Oklahoma lawsuit Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. Commercial airlines has said, you know what, were gonna lift the mask mandate. Staver believes the Florida case case has a good chance of making it to the Supreme Court, potentially invalidating all government mandates for COVID-19 vaccination. They have similar objections to their Texas counterparts, from opposition to abortion to concerns about modifying their bodies. That means that this is quickly becoming a national security concern. Thats really prohibited by the by the courts considering these types of cases. New family, former Corvias employee join lawsuit against Fort . On Feb. 17, the service lifted its policy of banning unvaccinated sailors from deploying. On Tuesday, a federal judge granted an injunction against discipline of an Air Force officer whose religious exemption had been denied. Why is the DoD ignoring natural immunity when the CDC and other epidemiologists and medical experts have all generally agreed natural immunity is a real thing. Many religious exemption applications have explained that the service members werent aware of the use of fetal stem cells prior to all of the controversy over the COVID-19 vaccine, but for the purposes of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, they dont have to explain themselves. The Army reported about 1,300 religious requests, none of which have been approved, as well as six medical exemptions. There is no verifiable evidence that COVID-19 vaccines have killed, or will kill, more military personnel than the disease itself. The same day the Pentagon set the deadline for the services, several of the branches -- namely the Army and Air Force -- began issuing their guidance, which stated they would remove or correct adverse actions in records related to vaccine refusal. Federal judge expands exemption to military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate House Republicans warn about loss of public trust after COVID lockdowns Navy quietly rolled back punishments for SEALs seeking religious All 16 service members joined the lawsuit anonymously, listing in the filing only their currently assigned bases and statuses in the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines, or reserve components. The Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines do not need fetal cell lines for development or production but were tested on fetal cell lines replicated from a fetus aborted in the 1970s to ensure their efficacy. Tom Temin is host of the Federal Drive and has been providing insight on federal technology and management issues for more than 30 years. The Florida case began with a Navy and Marine Corps officer in 2021, but has soon ballooned to 36 plaintiffs from all military branches as well as some civilian Defense Department employees. COVID19 vaccine mandate to end for military - fayobserver.com Another plaintiff is fighting in court after trying to retire one alternative to vaccination the Air Force offered. They will also have to make the case that vaccinating, or involuntarily discharging, every service member is the least restrictive means of keeping the force safe from COVID-19, rather than enforcing masking or social distancing or in some cases, grandfathering in troops who acquired some immunity after catching COVID-19. The content of this website reflects the current thinking of the United States Department of Health and Human Services on the topics addressed and does not create or confer any rights for or on any person and does not operate to bind the Department or the public. Three of the event's witnesses doctors Jay Bhattacharya, Martin Kulldorf, and Marty Makary are part of a small group of medical experts known as the Norfolk Group. The problem here is that the government is simply unwilling to offer any compromises. . According to the First Liberty Institute, the public interest law firm representing the service members, each of the denials appeared to be identical, suggesting the Navy had not taken any of the religious exemption requests seriously. Top Pentagon officials do not plan to alter their current "lawful orders" requiring the coronavirus shots for troops, unless they are granted waivers for medical or religious purposes, the. On Jan. 10, the DOD officially rescinded its Aug. 24, 2021, and Nov. 30, 2021, memoranda mandating that all members of the U.S. military, including the National Guard and Ready Reserves, take the emergency use authorization COVID-19 shots or face discharge and other disciplinary measures. "We are grateful for the support of the Legislature and the Governor in the State's efforts to block the . Subscribe to Federal Drives daily audio interviews onApple PodcastsorPodcastOne. As part of the exemption process, service members are required to meet with a chaplain to work through their concerns. Mike Barry:No, really, I mean, this is happening across the entire Department of Defense. Lt. Col. Edward Stapanon, a Catholic instructor pilot at the 435th Fighter Training Squadron in Texas, said he requested retirement twice but was turned down because he hasnt finished out an extension of his active duty service commitment that ends in 2024. But Islamic tradition does not discourage vaccination, and doesnt forbid abortion before 17 weeks gestation, with even more leeway if the health of the mother is in jeopardy or if there are life-threatening fetal abnormalities. The Navy began issuing guidance to sailors earlier this month. The Coast Guard issued guidance Monday announcing it was "taking action to remove" all administrative remark entries related to the COVID-19 vaccination mandate from reserve and active-duty records. The Texas lawsuit also states the plaintiffs are willing to continue to wear masks, social distance and take mandatory COVID-19 tests, rather than get vaccinated. Both cases are in a wait-and-see phase, where judges have granted injunctions against any discipline for vaccine refusal while the government responds to requests for information. Federal judge temporarily halts Air Force's COVID-19 vaccine mandate Through much prayer and reflection, Plaintiffs have sought wisdom, understanding, and guidance on the proper decisions to make concerning these COVID-19 vaccines, and Plaintiffs have been convicted by the Holy Spirit that accepting any of the three currently available vaccines is against the teachings of Scripture and would be a sin, according to a Florida lawsuit first filed in late 2021, then amended on Feb. 7 with additional plaintiffs. The free exercise of religion, even in the military, it triggers the strongest protection available in the law.. The Marine Corps separated 165 Marines over the past week due to their refusal to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Several lawsuits have been filed by sailors opposing the mandate and challenging the Navy's approach to reviewing the religious exemption requests. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members. The suit was initially filed by a group of Navy SEALs but later expanded to include all vaccine-refusing sailors. So I think that if one of these cases does end up in front of the Supreme Court, it will probably be addressed just on the narrow vaccine issue. Theres yet another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the militarys COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Details emerge of Vaccine Choice Canada lawsuit over coronavirus - CBC Then in April, the WHO warned that. "Marines will defer to Combatant Command policies regarding deployments.". Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine was developed and cleared for emergency use in eight months a fact . The lawsuits dont mention other vaccines these troops received either in their childhoods or during service the chicken pox, rubella and hepatitis A vaccines are all required that used descendent fetal cells in development. Otherwise, the courts are going to be flooded with thousands of lawsuits, he said. VICP provides compensation for injuries and deaths caused by If the court certifies the class does the class become all unvaccinated airmen or everyone whos been denied a religious exemption? The quickest vaccine ever developed was for mumps. And then if you come back and you say, oh, no, but my exemption is a medical exemption [see Contraindications and Precautions]not a religious exemption, then the military says, Oh, well, in that case, we welcome you with open arms. So that, right now that number is several thousand. About 97% of the Department of the Air Force is fully vaccinated, though a larger share of active duty airmen and guardians have gotten the jab compared to their Guard and Reserve counterparts. And so all of them have requested religious accommodations from the vaccine mandate, which is, of course, something that DoD regulations and even federal law, clearly permit and allow. Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine syringes at a vaccination clinic in the Peabody Institute Library in Peabody, Massachusetts, on Jan. 26, 2022. While vials contain the same formula, some have made the argument that because providers are still giving the emergency-use Pfizer version, no one can be compelled to get vaccinated until the Comirnaty-labeled vials are in circulation. The soldier and Marine also want their case escalated into a class action lawsuit to take in other military personnel plus Department of Defense contractors. Per FDA guidance, these two vaccines are interchangeable and DoD health care providers should use doses distributed under the EUA to administer the vaccination series as if the doses were the licensed vaccine, " she wrote. Judge Blocks Military Vaccine Mandate Again, Dares Supreme Court to The next stop in the litigation is likely to be an appeal by the Department of Defense and the Biden administration to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. Mike Barry:Well, I mean, thats the beauty of the way that the law works, right? Already, a soldier and Marine have filed a lawsuit arguing that service members who have already recovered from COVID-19 and therefore have natural immunity should be exempt from vaccine mandates, according to the Army Times. The NAVADMIN, referencing the injunction, prevents adverse action against sailors who will not get the COVID-19 vaccine and submitted a religious exemptions request. Sarah Parshall Perry is a senior legal fellow for the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. More than 60 service members have joined lawsuits against the U.S. government, alleging that the military's process for awarding religious vaccine exemptions is a sham. And lets start by talking a bit about your clients, where they are in the Air Force vaccine exemption process and what led you to file the suit? And yet people who work and I mean, youre coming in very close proximity with thousands of people per day, hundreds of people per hour. And one of the reasons for that is if they if theyre between the ages of 17 and 23, and theyre not vaccinated, were not even willing to talk to them. And so theyre basically closing off an entire segment of society in a discriminatory manner. Same thing on airplanes, right? Ross said such questions were speculative and not at issue in the case before the court. Similar suits have been brought throughout the country by service members across the military branches. Jehovahs Witnesses, who ban military service for their members, are probably the most prominent. Pentagon: Judge's halt of vaccine mandate for - Stars and Stripes Night shifts arent popular, especially on Friday night, and things like that. In the Ohio case, 2nd Lt. Hunter Doster of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and more than a dozen other plaintiffs argue the Air Force is forcing them to lose their livelihoods or violate their religious beliefs by receiving vaccines they say are impure or have ties to abortion. Cincinnati federal judge blocks Air Force, Air National Guard - FOX19 The Navy comes in second with a total of 469 separations, which includes 50 this past week. Quite the contrary, they view life whether their own or that of their fellow servicemembers as sacred and deserving protection.. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. The military's COVID-19 vaccine was repealed after the National Defense Authorization Act passed and was signed into law this month. U.S. Airmen file lawsuit fighting Biden COVID-19 vaccine mandate - WOWT President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the mid-morning attack. We are hemorrhaging people like crazy, and were having a really hard time recruiting capable people to join our military. Jared Serbu: Last thing, theres a lot of these vaccine cases, even just military vaccine cases floating around in various district courts and circuits the moment. Pfizer pushes to intervene in lawsuit seeking COVID vaccine information WASHINGTON (AP) A bill to rescind the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for members of the U.S. military and provide nearly $858 billion for national defense passed the House on Thursday as. And really, the greatest harm here is not just to our members of the military who are suffering under this, but its actually to our nation. There was no indication when the judges would rule. They argue that their. There are fresh concerns that public support for ongoing military assistance may be waning. All the things that, you know, that the Navy was doing to harass and punish sailors we basically wanted that to all stop, Mike Berry, a former Marine judge advocate and now vice president at First Liberty Institute, which represents the Texas plaintiffs, told Military Times on Wednesday. And is there somewhere else we can assign them where maybe theyre at less risk of of COVID transmission or they start looking at the data, right, the actual CDC data and the COVID day they start look kicking it around and saying, You know what? Best listening experience is on Chrome, Firefox or Safari. Other federal court challenges to various COVID-19 vaccine mandates are ongoing. Staver, the attorney for the Florida plaintiffs, said his clients have shared their exemption rejection letters, which do not detail specifically why their requests werent approved. The lawsuit filed by Air Force members and other federal employees claims that "the US Constitution and numerous federal laws make it unlawful to compel persons to be vaccinated." The plaintiffs. How large is the class? And at least in the Starbucks is that Ive been in recently where theyve been packed in like sardines. Well, the good news is the law is set up so that the government actually can win those cases, when all they have to do is demonstrate that they have a compelling interest. Fox News U.S. The Army also announced in a Friday press release that ongoing reviews of COVID vaccine exemption requests, records of soldiers who requested COVID vaccine exemptions, vaccine requirements for accessions or pre-commissioning programs, and travel restrictions based solely on COVID vaccination status will be removed or amended. And the way that they are accomplishing their compelling interest is the least restrictive means on the persons religious beliefs. Are there major differences here? When they inquired about seeking religious accommodation for the vaccine, the Navy informed many of them that they could face court-martial or involuntary separation if they refused to take the vaccine. More than a dozen unidentified U.S. service members have filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the Defense Department's COVID-19 vaccine order, saying they have natural immunity from. 1:51:01 Awkward Andrea Mitchell lectures MSNBC reporter about using term "pro-life" 2:09:32 Baby "chop shop" FOIA lawsuit. Jared Serbu: Mike, thanks for being here. Troops who refused COVID vaccine still may face discipline They become the exception and not the norm. On Monday, Heather Hacker, an attorney for the Navy personnel, said the situation could be seen as worse now for them now that the older mandate policy has been rescinded, because current policy does not provide for a sailors religious objections to the vaccine to be considered when deployment or assignment decisions are made. Navy COVID-19 Vaccine Separations Drop as Injunction Takes Hold Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly. Department of Justice seeks dismissal of military vaccine lawsuit The goal, representatives for the plaintiffs say, is to at least secure religious exemptions for their clients, but potentially see a Supreme Court ruling that would apply to all service members. Just because of the just incredibly political nature of, of all of it, from the virus to the vaccine to the mandates, Marshall Griffin, a retired Coast Guard judge advocate who now practices privately, told Military Times on Monday. The Navy on Wednesday announced it had granted one waiver to a member of the Individual Ready Reserve, a non-drilling service member, who would have to get vaccinated should he or she come on orders.
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