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The lawsuits do not offer details from these meetings, nor do they state that the plaintiffs consulted with experts in their own religious communities before making their decisions to refuse vaccination. He has criticized the Air Force for what he sees as a failure to carefully consider the merits of each exemption request and instead sweepingly reject them. And thats why this is a sham.Jared Serbu: The Air Force case is a putative class action. Nearly 1,500 more people are exempt for medical or administrative reasons, such as severe allergic reactions or upcoming retirement. Biden admin still pushing COVID vaccine mandate for military: It's Navy officer sues DOD, Navy leaders over COVID vaccine - Navy Times House Republicans warn about loss of public trust after COVID lockdowns Nor do they mention the host of common medications that also use these stem cells, including Tylenol, Advil/Motrin, aspirin, Tums, Pepto Bismol, Benadryl, Sudafed and Claritin. Im happy to take that one from you. This disparity of treatment between medical and religious exemptions was constitutionally prohibited,Judge Reed OConnor said. Mike Berry, general counsel for First Liberty Institute,said: Forcing a service member to choose between their faith and serving their country is abhorrent to the Constitution and Americas values . 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. Jehovahs Witnesses, who ban military service for their members, are probably the most prominent. Nov. 2, 2021. COVID vaccine mandate lawsuit: Air Force officers argue shots are 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. Jared Serbu: This case seems remarkably similar to another case that I think First Liberty was also counsel on with a group of Navy SEALs before the very same judge, I believe too. Here, Plaintiffs must decide whether to lose their livelihoods or violate sincerely held religious beliefs. And in some cases, according to some reports, its even more durable than the vaccine and you dont have to get boosters and things like that. Overall, scientific evidence indicates that the benefits of vaccines largely . Jared Serbu: Yeah, theres a ton. Compensation Programs for Potential COVID-19 Vaccine Injuries - Congress 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. Is there any assurance on the record, that there will be no deployment decisions based on vaccination? Judge James Ho, one of three judges hearing the case asked Department of Justice lawyer Casen Ross. The government burdens religion when it put[s] substantial pressure on an adherent to modify his behavior and to violate his beliefs.. Service members file lawsuit over Pentagon's coronavirus vaccine Kevin Stitt with Fox News ads Another claimant, a Muslim Marine Corps captain, who said that his religious beliefs that require him to abstain from participation in that which is haram forbidden including the destruction and commoditization of innocent human life as exemplified by the use of human fetal cell lines derived from abortions, according to the lawsuit. The service members sued this week to vacate a Pentagon vaccine mandate for all those in the military, arguing they face imminent harm if a court order isn't issued temporarily blocking the. U.S. Military Service Members with Natural Immunity File Lawsuit over "We are grateful for the support of the Legislature and the Governor in the State's efforts to block the . On Jan. 7,the Supreme Court is set to hear oral argumentsin a set of high-profile, consolidated cases on the Biden administrations vaccine mandates for private-sector entities with 100 or more employees, and for health care facilities that receive Medicaid and Medicare funding. The Navy SEALS filed their lawsuit in November of 2021, describing what they saw as a cumbersome 50-step process to obtain religious exemptions for the COVID-19 vaccine. 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. A Ruling That Could End the Internet as We Know It - The New York Times Navy quietly rolled back punishments for SEALs seeking religious 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. 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Cisneros Jr., They include the small risk of myocarditis, which has anecdotally occurred in 1,626 U.S. residents out of more than 200 million fully vaccinated, with the highest risk in men under 24. Right? 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. I mean, all of it is just fraught with ideological purpose, and suspected purpose.. A federal court in Ohio on Thursday blocked the Air Force from enforcing the militarys coronavirus vaccine mandate for two weeks, a short-term win for airmen fighting multiple legal battles against inoculation. Starbucks, for example, doesnt have a vaccine requirement. In fact, as of Dec. 17, the religious accommodation requests of at least 29 of the 35 naval plaintiffs had been flatly denied. The latest lawsuit challenging DoD's COVID-19 vaccine mandate says the Air Force's process makes religious accommodations almost impossible to get. 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. 26 Feb 2023 11:38:25 I think we win under the First Amendment, because you have individualized exemptions with medical exemptions, but not religious exemptions.. Im willing to go through that. And usually when somebody is willing to go through those measures, that demonstrates a degree of sincerity. -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. 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. Of course, that came because of a federal judges ruling. DoD, for its part, settled its own policy with a memo from Assistant Defense Secretary for Health Affairs Terry Adirim last fall. So our lawsuit is really predicated on on the argument that this is all a sham, that the Air Force is not following the Constitution. That leaves around 14,400 airmen and guardians less protected in the COVID-19 pandemics third year. They had been told to get certain vaccines or other things without even be notified of a religious objection.. There are some notable caveats. Ross said such questions were speculative and not at issue in the case before the court. 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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. But although the Air Force has approved hundreds of medical and administrative exemptions, they have only approved a very small handful of religious exemptions and even the ones that theyve approved by their own admission, they are only for Air Force members who are basically already separating or are already on their way out. "It hasn't done it yet. And yet were short, were saying that were having a hard time recruiting people. The population of people seeking religious accommodations now is fairly small.. Vaccine refusers often state that the use of fetal cell lines in the creation of the shots conflicts with their views on abortion. WASHINGTON Two months after the Pentagon began requiring all troops to get the coronavirus vaccine or face dismissal, the vast majority have now had shots, in part because none . 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 decision sets the stage for a future trial or, possibly, the case winding its way up to the Supreme Court. 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. The Bonkers Lawsuit to Stop the Pentagon's Vaccine Mandate Army brigade surgeon claims in lawsuit vaccines are made with Although certain COVID-19 vaccines are associated with a slightly increased risk of blood clotting or heart inflammation, COVID-19 itself is associated with a higher rate of these and other conditions. 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. Then in April, the WHO warned that. Religious freedom laws are set up to avoid a circumstance where the Navy, or the military or the government, is doing a faith test, to determine whether or not you really believe what youre supposed to believe, Griffin said. The Pentagon directed all the services to "formally rescind any policies, directives, and guidance implementing those vaccination mandates as soon as possible, if they have not already done so," according to a Friday press release. And that is textbook discrimination, right? Its really the same thing in the military context with this vaccine, where theyre saying, Look, teleworking or, doing a lot of these other measures, right, social distancing, masking, testing, whatever the case might be. They argue that their. They argue that their 1st Amendment rights are being infringed upon, because their sincerely held religious beliefs prevent them from receiving the COVID-19 vaccine. 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. Peter Hill: Stats shown illness up in the military after COVID vaccine The Navy lawsuit is one of several ongoing legal challenges to the military branches' policies on religious exemptions to the DoD COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The Navy has, however, granted medical exemption requests submitted by other personnel. U.S. Military Service Members with Natural Immunity File Lawsuit over COVID Vaccine Mandate. Hubbard Radio Washington DC, LLC. Their objections to the vaccine fall into one of four categories, according to their complaint, including opposition to abortion and the use of fetal cell lines in pharmaceutical development, belief that body modification violates their religious principles, direct, divine instruction not to receive the vaccine, or declining to inject trace amounts of animal cells into ones body.. The only difference is really is that each branch of the military has their own internal regulations and policies for how they adjudicate these things. Indeed, Defendants employed such measures during the prior year before COVID-19 vaccines were made widely available.. Johnson & Johnson uses cells replicated from a fetus aborted in 1985 to produce its vaccine, but those cells are filtered out from the final product. A vaccine lawsuit is filed in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, instead of regular state or federal courts like other drug injury claims. The Air Force number is probably in the same ballpark. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members. Federal judge expands exemption to military's COVID-19 vaccine mandate 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. Another plaintiff is fighting in court after trying to retire one alternative to vaccination the Air Force offered. Im very confident that this case going to the Supreme Court, Mat Staver whose Liberty Counsel represents plaintiffs in the Florida case told Military Times on Tuesday. Our lawsuit is certainly centered on religious exemption, but our lawsuit is broader than that to block the mandate in general of a non-FDA approved product, Staver said. The World Health Organization approved Covaxin for emergency use in late 2021, making it a viable option for airmen who object to the three main U.S. shots. The Florida case also expands the arguments past the religious exemption process, citing a handful of other arguments made by COVID-19 vaccine detractors. "I am proud of the efforts the Department of the Army has taken to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic," Wormuth said. 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. Need help accessing the FCC Public File due to a disability? Because they will not compromise these religious beliefs, Plaintiffs have been threatened with separation from the military and other disciplinary action. And they have different ranks, different different job responsibilities in the Air Force, a number of them are actually pilots in the Air Force. Attorney General O'Connor Sues Over COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate for (U.S. Navy) Two service members filed a class action lawsuit against Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to halt a mandate that all troops receive the coronavirus vaccine and create an exemption. 3 min read POINT PLEASANT, NJ A U.S. Marine from Point Pleasant who was discharged. Rabies shots are required only for some service members in certain career fields. Our military, I mean, you can open any news feed that you want. Essentially, while the Marines applied for exemptions on religious grounds, they were already entitled to a much more straightforward administrative exemption for troops soon to leave service or not currently with their units, which is likely the reason they were approved. Sixty-seven percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. There was no indication when the judges would rule. And well be back week after week.. Were going from a 50-step process to a zero-step process? Duncan asked. In other words, its usually ill-advised to take an opinion on one subject or one issue, and then try to extrapolate and say and that and say, Well, that should apply across the board to all issues. As part of the exemption process, service members are required to meet with a chaplain to work through their concerns. Under the law, theres no requirement that you adhere to a major or even recognized faith tradition, he said. Federal judge temporarily halts Air Force's COVID-19 vaccine mandate U.S. military is discharging service members who refuse to get The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), it doesnt, the sincerity issue is what everybody seems to be concerned with, right? Could the Supreme Court strike down the military's vaccination mandate? I think that a process that is not a sham looks a little bit something like the military regardless of what branch were talking about, takes an honest look and says okay, what is this persons job or their function? Similar suits have been brought throughout the country by service members across the military branches. Thomas Bruns, a Cincinnati-based attorney with Bruns, Connell, Vollmar & Armstrong representing the service members, told Military.com on Monday that the service members in that case are promised full relief from any harms caused by the mandate. But what we cant do is say, well, because they ruled this way, in this case, this is how theyre going to rule in all cases. "This guidance is a promise of what the Air Force is saying it will do," Bruns told Military.com. 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. The prospect of dishonorable discharges has been a concern for some against vaccine mandates, but that type of discharge can only be handed down through a court-martial conviction. Military service members have. The Navy service members in this case seek to vindicate the very freedoms they have sacrificed so much to protect,OConnor wrote, adding: The COVID-19 pandemic provides the government no license to abrogate those freedoms. Judge Blocks Military Vaccine Mandate Again, Dares Supreme Court to 2:14:14 Pentagon exploring back pay for troops kicked out of military over vaccine mandate. And what if this is political ideology masquerading as as religious piety? Same thing on airplanes, right? The service branches must notify the Pentagon that they've made the changes no later than March 17. Air Force officers, Secret Service agent among those challenging