Of course, that came because of a federal judges ruling. Theres yet another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the militarys COVID-19 vaccine mandate. The latest class action targets the Air Forces religious accommodation process, arguing that process is set up in such a way that getting a religious exemption to the vaccine is almost impossible. Two staff sergeants, one Army, one Marine, have filed a lawsuit against three federal agencies, challenging plans to conduct mandatory COVID-19 vaccinations of military troops. And yet were short, were saying that were having a hard time recruiting people. Overall, scientific evidence indicates that the benefits of vaccines largely . The Air Force Department had received more than 12,000 religious exemption requests, denying over 3,000 of them and with roughly 2,000 still in adjudication. 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. Plaintiffs do not believe that staying true to their faith means exposing themselves or others to unnecessary risk, according to the filing. 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. 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? Ho and Judge Kyle Duncan noted that the administration had only reluctantly ended the military mandate after December congressional action, but Ross assured the panel that there are no plans to bring back the requirement. ), the Washington Post, and others. Theyre burdensome, but the person says, But you know what, at the end of the day, Im not have to inject something in my body that violates my religious beliefs. Trident Order #12 also implemented the COVID-19 vaccine mandate at the command level for Naval Special Warfare forces, setting a deadline of compliance for October 17, 2021," the SEALs' legal team . A ruling in that case, issued this past November by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, upheld previous wins by attorneys representing the service members over the last year and took aim at the Air Force's process of approving religious exemptions. That means that this is quickly becoming a national security concern. Each of those shots also involves cell tissue derived from fetuses, as does one version of the rabies vaccine. There are some notable caveats. Im willing to go through that. And usually when somebody is willing to go through those measures, that demonstrates a degree of sincerity. 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 took four years and was licensed in 1967. 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. Then in April, the WHO warned that supplier Bharat Biotech had stopped production because of deficiencies in good manufacturing practices.. It also allows them to restrict sailors' movement "in order to comply with host nation quarantine regulations.". Earlier in the case: Eglin AFB officers part of federal court challenge to military vaccine mandate Related:Motion to halt military COVID-19 vaccine mandate fails; federal trial date set The 18 . 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. 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? The government responded to the lawsuit by pointing out that immunization requirements are common in the military beginning with the Continental Army under George Washington and that vaccines and are essential to preventing the transmission of diseases in close quarters. And well be back week after week.. A group of lawsuit plaintiffs, including four Air Force officers and a Secret Service agent, have asked a federal court to block the Biden administration's coronavirus vaccination mandates,. 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. The Texas lawsuit argues that the Navy Department is blanketly denying all religious requests, making the process a sham. 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. Produced by Will Reid , Rob Szypko . President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the mid-morning attack. Plaintiffs, therefore, do not object to safety measures that reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace, it reads. The Catholic Churchs policy on derived fetal cells has been clear for decades: the sin of abortion is so far removed in pharmaceutical development that a Catholic is not violating any principles by getting vaccinated. Other service members have struck out on their own to fight the mandate. And now people will be able to take the analysis Supreme Court used and say, Okay, the way that they analyzed this issue, that might give us some indication of how they would analyze other issues, right. They had been told to get certain vaccines or other things without even be notified of a religious objection.. Government lawyers argue the policy is in line with well-established principles of judicial noninterference with core military decision making, in their briefs. More than 1.14 million out of the 1.4 million active military members have been fully vaccinated as of Wednesday, according to DoD data. Underthat law, the government may substantially burden a persons exercise of religion only if it demonstrates that burden is (1) in furtherance of a compelling governmental interest; and (2) is the least restrictive means of furthering that interest. All of the military services are currently reworking their policies to adjust separation and promotion records for service members who refused to get the COVID-19 vaccine, after the Pentagon. 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? Unlike VARES that is questioned a lot by the totally compromised medical establishment for accuracy, the U.S. military DMED (Defense Medical Epidemiology Database) reporting system is only submitted by military doctors and qualifies every single ICD (International Classification of Diseases) code in the military for Tricare billing to Humana Insurance covering over 6 million military personal. 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. We are hemorrhaging people like crazy, and were having a really hard time recruiting capable people to join our military. Under the law, theres no requirement that you adhere to a major or even recognized faith tradition, he said. Theres been a lot of great saints that have gone to prison, so Im willing to do that.. But in terms of the underlying legal issues that are raised, no, theyre exactly the same. I know, off the top of my head, the number in the Navy is somewhere near 4,100. 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. On Feb. 17, the service lifted its policy of banning unvaccinated sailors from deploying. 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. The vaccine mandate for military personnel was put in place in August, with a deadline of Sept. 15. The Supreme Court is reviewing a legal shield that tech companies have long relied on to avoid liability for content on their platforms. He spoke with a reporter last Wednesday but did . Everyone who joins the military must receive a slate of several vaccines to enter, including chickenpox, rubella and hepatitis A. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. But it may not take a lawsuit for the issue to change the environment when it comes to mandatory vaccination. Theyre not pleasant. 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. "I am proud of the efforts the Department of the Army has taken to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic," Wormuth said. The mandate treats comparable secular activity (e.g., medical exemptions) more favorably than religious activity. Same thing on airplanes, right? Only the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is manufactured using fetal cell lines. 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? Federal News Network's DoD Cloud Exchange: From enterprise to the tactical edge discover how the Defense Department and military services intend to advance their use of cloud technologies. The plaintiffs argue that violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Theres yet another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the militarys COVID-19 vaccine mandate. 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. FILE - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022. Members face the same injury: violation of their constitutional freedom by defendants clear policy of discrimination against religious accommodation requests, wrote McFarland, of the U.S. District Court of the Southern District of Ohio. Given the prevailing public health guidelines and the state of the virus, there is currently no intention to require universal vaccination of all service members, Ross said. However, in a strange turn of events, while Bolsonaro was eating Mickey Mouse-shaped pancakes in Orlando, a group of Bolsonaristas (supporters of Bolsonaro) attacked the Brazilian Supreme Court, Congress, and Presidential Palace in Brasilia and called for a military coup.Lula blamed Bolsonaro personally for the attacks; Moraes quickly moved to suspend Brasilia's governor and security chief . The Air Force number is probably in the same ballpark. 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. This disparity of treatment between medical and religious exemptions was constitutionally prohibited,OConnor said: As a brief preview, the vaccine mandate fails strict scrutiny. The vaccine mandate divided Americans and has remained a contentious political issue. Feb. 23, 2023. Its just under 4,100. WASHINGTON The Air Force has discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID-19 vaccine, making them what officials believe are the first service members to be removed for disobeying the. Those records are supposed to be cleared by March 31, according to the guidance. There is no verifiable evidence that COVID-19 vaccines have killed, or will kill, more military personnel than the disease itself. Researchers cultivate these cells for generations, using their derivatives to create or test all manner of pharmaceutical products. Need help accessing the FCC Public File due to a disability? 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. 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 . (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.). And in fact, he said, the exemption process is fraught in and of itself. Our military, I mean, you can open any news feed that you want. 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. NEW ORLEANS Federal appeals court judges closely questioned a Biden administration attorney Monday on the consequences military personnel might face for refusing COVID-19 vaccinations, even. 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. 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.. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. 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. 300aa-10-300aa-44). The number of exemptions has fluctuated over the last several months as some people decided to get the shots or leave the service instead of seeking accommodation. Sarah Parshall Perry is a senior legal fellow for the Edwin Meese III Center for Legal and Judicial Studies at The Heritage Foundation. Read Next: The Navy's Top Enlisted Sailor Is Ready for You to Ask Him Anything. death from COVID-19 vaccines administered after the declaration ends would be addressed in court under tort law unless the COVID-19 vaccines are added to the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP; 42 U.S.C. Right? In December, the Air Force announced it had discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID . Jehovahs Witnesses, who ban military service for their members, are probably the most prominent. And yet they say, you know what, we now believe that its okay, for our employees to not be vaccinated, its okay for our customers to not be vaccinated. OConnormade note of thisin his order, calling the process for seeking a religious exemption nothing more than theater, stating that the Navy merely rubber-stamps each denial, and stressing that the record overwhelmingly demonstrates that the Navys religious-accommodation process is an exercise in futility.. 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. And theyre discriminating against people in the military. The free exercise of religion, even in the military, it triggers the strongest protection available in the law.. We are kicking out people by the thousands. 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. The Justice Department intends to appeal the Texas ruling, while a temporary injunction in the Florida case expires Friday. And I have yet to hear of a single flight being canceled because there was a COVID outbreak at 30,000 feet. Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek declined to comment on ongoing litigation and how it may affect how the service handles religious accommodation requests. 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. And they have different ranks, different different job responsibilities in the Air Force, a number of them are actually pilots in the Air Force. 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. A federal judge in Cincinnati has expanded a temporary exemption to a Department of Defense COVID-19 vaccine mandate to cover thousands of service members in the U.S. Air Force and Space Force,. Secretary of the Army Christine Wormuth said in the press release that the service is still, however, encouraging vaccinations. Also missing from the lawsuits are any new religious conversion, or simply the possibility that they were previously unaware of the role of replicated fetal stem cells in pharmaceutical development, that would explain why they never objected to any vaccines or medications before. Mike Barry:It would be everyone who is requested and been denied a religious accommodation from the vaccine mandates, specifically the COVID vaccine mandate. Copyright 2023 Hubbard Radio Washington DC, LLC. All rights reserved. The . 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. 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. 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. And they recognize that theres almost a presumption of belief. So that, right now that number is several thousand. 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. A federal judge granted a preliminary injunction on Monday blocking the Defense Department from taking action against a group of 35 Navy sailors who had refused to get a coronavirus vaccine,. They argue that their. So if they work Sunday afternoon, or if theyre scheduled to work a particular Sunday afternoon, they say, Well, Im a Sabbath observer on Sundays. Just three days later, he issued a far more sweeping order granting 4,095 service members a religious exemption from the COVID vaccine. The Navy comes in second with a total of 469 separations, which includes 50 this past week. Austin ends the militarys COVID-19 vaccine mandate, Ex-soldier, a neo-Nazi, gets 45 years for plot to ambush his own unit, Issues with the Armys Europe-based equipment trigger readiness alarms, Veterans Affairs drops mask requirement for all agency medical offices, How the Marine Corps is preparing for era of contested logistics, Tax scams How to report them Money Minute, Capitol Hill weighs action on two controversial topics: medical marijuana and abortion, Lockheed wins hypersonics contract | Defense Dollars, Go inside a secret nuclear fallout bunker sealed for decades, Perennial pilot shortage puts Air Force in precarious position, Pentagon again denies helping Ukraine attack targets inside Russia. The government really cant scrutinize belief very far.. WASHINGTON (AP) The military services are still reviewing possible discipline of troops who refused the order to get the COVID-19 vaccine, defense officials told Congress on Tuesday, and they provided few details on how many of those who were forced out of the military would like to return.