Troops who refuse mandatory COVID-19 vaccines will likely also face courts-martial for the same offense, said Zaid, who represented Task & Purpose in a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit to force . 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. I think one of the militarys concerns is whats the limiting principle here? 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. 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 group includes 14 men and two women. The Florida case, in a 187-page complaint, takes measures much further. There is no verifiable evidence that COVID-19 vaccines have killed, or will kill, more military personnel than the disease itself. Most of the plaintiffs express some sort of Christian faith, though the vast majority of denominations have no formal ban on vaccination. Nov. 2, 2021. Army leadership has been eyeing the possibility of a mandated COVID-19 vaccine this summer, including in a June information paper originating from the Army's health care operations directorate . Court Delivers Win to Military Members Denied Religious Exemptions From Pentagon Vaccine Mandate, SCOTUS 101: Student Loans and Major Questions, Unpacking the Oral Arguments Against Bidens Student Loan Cancellation, Appeals Court Steals Show on ERA Amid Senate Panels Bid to Resurrect Dead Amendment, the Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments. And yet were short, were saying that were having a hard time recruiting people. Feb. 23, 2023. Kevin Stitt with Fox News ads (The Daily Signal is the news outlet of The Heritage Foundation.). 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,. Additionally, "promotion records will be corrected by the [Department of the Air Force] who will remove or redact all adverse actions related to vaccine refusal," according to a Friday press release. 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. Technology Artificial Intelligence Ask the CIO Automation Big Data CIO News Cloud Computing Cybersecurity IT Modernization Open Data/Transparency Reporter's Notebook Defense On DoD Army Navy Air Force 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. Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek declined to comment on ongoing litigation and how it may affect how the service handles religious accommodation requests. Circuit Court of Appeals panel that federal court injunctions against the mandate are still needed, in part because decisions on deployments and assignments can still be made based on vaccination status. 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. The lawsuit attempts to overturn Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's order that active-duty service members are required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. 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. Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. Government lawyers argue the policy is in line with well-established principles of judicial noninterference with core military decision making, in their briefs. Assuming, maybe Im assuming too much. More than 60 service members have joined lawsuits against the U.S. government, alleging that the militarys process for awarding religious vaccine exemptions is a sham. But nevertheless, how many, I fly almost on a weekly basis for my job. 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? Other federal court challenges to various COVID-19 vaccine mandates are ongoing. The Air Force number is probably in the same ballpark. Until any harm is remedied, according to Bruns, the case is still active. There are some notable caveats. 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. 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. There is no COVID-19 exception to the First Amendment. Im willing to go through that. And usually when somebody is willing to go through those measures, that demonstrates a degree of sincerity. Its just under 4,100. Copyright 2023 Military.com. They argue that their. And both lawsuits include arguments that the plaintiffs prayed on the issue and came to the conclusion that vaccination would violate their principles. The Navy began issuing guidance to sailors earlier this month. 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. 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. . The vaccine mandate divided Americans and has remained a contentious political issue. The military across the board is discriminating discriminating against people of faith. Then in April, the WHO warned that. And to say, basically, no, you will do this because we said so and if you dont, were gonna kick you out. Her work has appeared in Air Force Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy, the Frederick News-Post (Md. Commercial airlines has said, you know what, were gonna lift the mask mandate. The Marine Corps had fielded 3,500 religious waiver requests, granting three, in addition to about 250 medical waivers and 400 other administrative approvals. 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. A timeline of when vaccines are due was left up to the . In the filing, attorneys argue that the plaintiffs are facing criminal conviction and dishonorable discharge, which would strip them of any veterans benefits. Right? 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. 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. Mike Barry: I think theres almost 30 now. This whole thing is really unprecedented, right? That means that this is quickly becoming a national security concern. 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. 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. 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. The chief of Irans nuclear program, Mohammad Eslami, acknowledged the findings of the IAEA report. 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So thats usually unwise, and so practitioners who are in front of the Supreme Court frequently like us, we usually know not to do that. 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.. 2:41 . I know, off the top of my head, the number in the Navy is somewhere near 4,100. 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. Nearly 1,500 more people are exempt for medical or administrative reasons, such as severe allergic reactions or upcoming retirement. The . 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. Similar suits have been brought throughout the country by service members across the military branches. 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. 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. Overall, scientific evidence indicates that the benefits of vaccines largely . You got a preliminary injunction in that case and a favorable ruling from the Fifth Circuit. Subscribe to Federal Drives daily audio interviews onApple PodcastsorPodcastOne. 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. President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. condemned the mid-morning attack. The question is, whats the bigger risk to readiness: Discharging skilled, expensively trained service members for refusing to get vaccinated, or allowing them to continue serving with the potential to become infected with COVID-19, experience serious illness and potentially long-lasting side effects? As of Tuesday, the Air Force had denied about 6,800 initial religious waiver requests and 3,600 appeals, and has not ruled on nearly 3,500 more cases. 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 "rule" and the ways it will be fought 1:43:40 How to fight the NFA and its unconstitutional rule about barrel lengths. And that is textbook discrimination, right? It is a danger of, you know, the government saying, Well, hey, heres what your faith tradition teaches, you should follow that, " Griffin said. OConnor ruled that the blanket denial of their religious waiver requests amounted to a violation of the service members rights under the First Amendment andthe Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The primary protest centers around fetal stem cells, which may or may not have originated with an aborted pregnancy. Under the law, theres no requirement that you adhere to a major or even recognized faith tradition, he said. The judge's decision impacts 200 to 300 servicemembers stationed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, who filed the lawsuit against top military leaders back in February. Otherwise, the courts are going to be flooded with thousands of lawsuits, he said. 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 Supreme Court ruled in March 2022 that the sea service was allowed to reassign sailors who had refused the shot and filed exemption requests to nonoperational commands. ), the Washington Post, and others. 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. More than 800 unvaccinated service members have been ousted from the Air Force so far. 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.