U.S. military is discharging service members who refuse to get At 1,038, the Marine Corps leads the military branches for the most separations. A dozen U.S. Air Force officers have filed a lawsuit . "Former Soldiers may petition the Army Discharge Review Board and the Army Board for Correction of Military Records to request corrections to their records," the service's press release said. Law firms Latham & Watkins LLP Follow Siri & Glimstad LLP (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, facing a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit seeking a vast trove of data. More than 1 million Americans have died from COVID-19 since the virus began spreading in December 2019, and the U.S. has recorded around 89 million cases. Were pleased that the court has acted to protect our brave warriors before more damage is done to our national security. Their lawyers have called a sham with applications being categorically denied., The Defense Department denied the process was onerous and said the Navy has a compelling interest in requiring vaccinations for personnel who often operate for long periods in confined spaces that are ripe breeding grounds for respiratory illnesses.. Lawsuits over military vaccine mandate to continue despite DOD (Susan Walsh/AP, File). Because how do you avoid getting to the point where anyone can deny or refuse any lawful order by claiming that they have a sincerely held religious belief that would be encumbered by it? Another difference is that the VICP is a no-fault compensation program. Navy officer sues DOD, Navy leaders over COVID vaccine - Navy Times Eglin AFB officers part of federal court challenge to military COVID 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? In a hypothetical alternate universe where it were the Navy and the Air Force, the rest of the services had an exemption process or a waiver process that did look more credible to you and to the court, do you lose these cases? "I am proud of the efforts the Department of the Army has taken to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic," Wormuth said. 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. 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. The Navy granted another 500 administrative exemptions, including temporary waivers for sailors planning to leave the service or in the middle of a permanent change-of-station move, for example. Copyright 2023 Military.com. Dr. Lee Merritt, a self-described Navy surgeon, stated during an . 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. Troops who refused COVID vaccine still may face discipline The . AFLDS has also pushed ivermectin and. 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. The law says that sincerely held religious beliefs are to be taken at face value. The latest lawsuit challenging DoD's COVID-19 vaccine mandate says the Air Force's process makes religious accommodations almost impossible to get. I think one of the militarys concerns is whats the limiting principle here? 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. There is no COVID-19 exception to the First Amendment. The mandate treats comparable secular activity (e.g., medical exemptions) more favorably than religious activity. Other federal court challenges to various COVID-19 vaccine mandates are ongoing. 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. You got a preliminary injunction in that case and a favorable ruling from the Fifth Circuit. 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. 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 ended the inoculation mandate last month. (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. 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.. 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. COVID-19 vaccine mandate for Air National Guard spurs Oklahoma lawsuit Our military, I mean, you can open any news feed that you want. Military leaders have long argued that to maintain unit health and troop readiness, troops have for decades been required to get as many as 17 vaccines, particularly those who are deploying overseas. 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. 16 Service Members Sue to Halt DoD's Vaccine Order | Military.com There was no indication when the judges would rule. The problem here is that the government is simply unwilling to offer any compromises. The military across the board is discriminating discriminating against people of faith. I mean, this is quickly becoming a national security issue for our nation. Biden admin still pushing COVID vaccine mandate for military: It's Her work has appeared in Air Force Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy, the Frederick News-Post (Md. The judge recognized that when he granted our [temporary restraining order] on Feb. 2 because toward the end, he said the public has an interest also in this because these are courageous skilled, individuals who are not easily replaceable, Staver said. 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,. 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. They argue that their. Other service members have struck out on their own to fight the mandate. The lawsuit also fails to mention an established precedent regarding vaccines in religious traditions. 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. 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. Cincinnati federal judge blocks Air Force, Air National Guard - FOX19 3 min read POINT PLEASANT, NJ A U.S. Marine from Point Pleasant who was discharged. 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 . More:Dark money group targets Oklahoma Gov. Well, what if somebodys not really sincere? 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. Indeed, Defendants employed such measures during the prior year before COVID-19 vaccines were made widely available.. I dont think that the precedent is going to be that big of one, Griffin, the former Coast Guard lawyer, said. Religious exemption for COVID vaccine: Does military mandate offer one House Republicans warn about loss of public trust after COVID lockdowns 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. 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 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. The new policy guidance to the services makes no mention of reinstating service members who were separated from the military for refusing the shot. They dont offer what are, in the legal speak, we call advisory opinions. The lawsuit, in which 14 men and two women serving in the military are named as plaintiffs, names U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, three U.S. military service secretaries and other. 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. If you want to swap with me, and they do that through the employer, or their employer offers that. All rights reserved. Judge grants relief to Navy SEALs who refused coronavirus vaccine, sued -- Thomas Novelly can be reached at thomas.novelly@military.com. That leaves around 14,400 airmen and guardians less protected in the COVID-19 pandemics third year. This disparity of treatment between medical and religious exemptions was constitutionally prohibited,Judge Reed OConnor said. And well be back week after week.. Adam Rawnsley. "We will continue to promote and encourage COVID-19 vaccination for all personnel to ensure readiness, facilitate mission accomplishment, and protect the force.". Members of the U.S. military who haven't been vaccinated against COVID-19 are starting to face the consequences. 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. "Marines will defer to Combatant Command policies regarding deployments.". 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. 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 . You can't sue Pfizer or Moderna if you have severe Covid vaccine side Court Delivers Win to Military Members Denied Religious Exemptions From It was just a bunch of window dressing, on what was really a foregone conclusion of 100% of religious exemption requests were going to be disapproved, Berry said. The first military COVID-19 vaccine mandate will take effect in November. So if you can find a way to accommodate somebodys religious beliefs, in a less burdensome way right, a way thats less obstructive or cumbersome on their religious exercise, then if the person is really sincere in their religious beliefs, theyll usually accept that. It also allows them to restrict sailors' movement "in order to comply with host nation quarantine regulations.". 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. Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. Pfizer's Covid-19 vaccine was developed and cleared for emergency use in eight months a fact . The story seems pretty similar to whats going on with these airmen. The Pentagon has not provided any public updates or said when the formal policy will be issued. In January of last year, a federal judge in Texas barred the Navy from taking any action against the Navy plaintiffs for being unvaccinated. But in terms of the underlying legal issues that are raised, no, theyre exactly the same. 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. Theres yet another lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of the militarys COVID-19 vaccine mandate. And they recognize that theres almost a presumption of belief. And in one instance, I saw one of the head people for recruiting in the military said, Were having a really hard time identifying, basically people who are eligible to serve in the military. Military members opposed to vaccines seek legal help | wusa9.com 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. Read Next: The Navy's Top Enlisted Sailor Is Ready for You to Ask Him Anything. Could the Supreme Court strike down the military's vaccination mandate? He spoke with a reporter last Wednesday but did . U.S. Military Service Members with Natural Immunity File Lawsuit over The NAVADMIN, referencing the injunction, prevents adverse action against sailors who will not get the COVID-19 vaccine and submitted a religious exemptions request. Military Leaders Called To Testify About Impact Of COVID-19 Vaccine Mandate Best listening experience is on Chrome, Firefox or Safari. 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. They had been told to get certain vaccines or other things without even be notified of a religious objection.. Simply put, no actual fetal cells were used in the development of any of the COVID-19 vaccines the cells in question were replicated by scientists, in labs, from tissue harvested previously. And in fact, he said, the exemption process is fraught in and of itself. 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 . But if they eventually get consolidated in the Supreme Court grants cert [writs of certiorari] on something that considers the issue more broadly, would you expect that well get a case or a ruling that goes beyond the narrow issue of vaccines and gives the military some guidance as to how RFRA and broader religious accommodation issues apply to the military? 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. In response to Military.com stating that the COVID-19 "vaccines have some rare side effects, including heart inflammation that has affected at least 22 service members, according to a study from the JAMA Network," an attorney working with U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wisconsin, and whistle blowers in the U.S. military are pushing back against . Jehovahs Witnesses, who ban military service for their members, are probably the most prominent. Subscribe to Federal Drives daily audio interviews onApple PodcastsorPodcastOne. The Air Force number is probably in the same ballpark. Other plaintiffs focus not on the abortion issue, but on several Bible passages that refer to the body as a temple. Ryan Bruce, a Marine Corps spokesman, told Military.com. The government really cant scrutinize belief very far.. Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek declined to comment on ongoing litigation and how it may affect how the service handles religious accommodation requests. Marine Corps Exceeds 1,000 COVID-19 Vaccine Separations, Navy at 469 Plaintiffs, therefore, do not object to safety measures that reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace, it reads. Commercial airlines has said, you know what, were gonna lift the mask mandate. Judge tosses lawsuit over military vaccination mandate | Coronavirus Ross said such questions were speculative and not at issue in the case before the court. Yet another lawsuit challenging military's - Federal News Network Mike Barry: I think theres almost 30 now. 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.. 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. 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 . From this foundation they make studied and reasonable decisions about what is good and what is not good or may not be good for their bodies.. Theres been a lot of great saints that have gone to prison, so Im willing to do 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. Then in April, the WHO warned that. A Ruling That Could End the Internet as We Know It - The New York Times Im willing to go through that. And usually when somebody is willing to go through those measures, that demonstrates a degree of sincerity. 2:41 . In the filing, attorneys argue that the plaintiffs are facing criminal conviction and dishonorable discharge, which would strip them of any veterans benefits. 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. Hey you have the Friday night shift, right? 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. 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. The Supreme Court is reviewing a legal shield that tech companies have long relied on to avoid liability for content on their platforms. Here, Plaintiffs must decide whether to lose their livelihoods or violate sincerely held religious beliefs. Its just under 4,100. 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. Otherwise, the courts are going to be flooded with thousands of lawsuits, he said. The lawsuit attempts to overturn Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin's order that active-duty service members are required to receive the COVID-19 vaccine. The government has since filed a notice that it plans to appeal the decision. Brazil's Emerging Judicial Dictatorship Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine syringes at a vaccination clinic in the Peabody Institute Library in Peabody, Massachusetts, on Jan. 26, 2022. 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. Two Eglin Air Force base officers are among the plaintiffs in a federal lawsuit challenging the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for U.S. military personnel. All rights reserved. In December, the Air Force announced it had discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID . Each of those shots also involves cell tissue derived from fetuses, as does one version of the rabies vaccine. They become the exception and not the norm. The Heritage Foundation, a petitioner in the case challenging the private-sector vaccine mandate,has asked the courtto invalidate the governments order. The group includes 14 men and two women. Theyre not pleasant. "This vaccine mandate is unlawful and does not reflect the Land of the Free," said General O'Connor. There are some notable caveats. 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. But the DoD is just saying Nope, we wont even recognize that we wont even consider it, even though they consider natural immunity for other communicable diseases and infections and things like that. Biden appointee behind unlawful military vaccine mandate to step down. 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 . 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. And I have yet to hear of a single flight being canceled because there was a COVID outbreak at 30,000 feet. So that, right now that number is several thousand. Kevin Stitt has pushed back on the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the military that would apply to the Oklahoma National Guard. Military service members have. They argue that their. In fact, as of Dec. 17, the religious accommodation requests of at least 29 of the 35 naval plaintiffs had been flatly denied. The Florida filing also spends much more time on the biographies of the complainants. Assuming, maybe Im assuming too much. That means that this is quickly becoming a national security concern. 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. 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. Military Services Will Amend COVID Vaccine Refuser Records So They Aren 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. 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 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. And that is textbook discrimination, right? 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. Dr Terry Adirim, the government bureaucrat behind the infamous and unlawful Pentagon vaccine mandate, will "leave her post in the coming days," reports FedScoop. The Air Force has approved 135 religious exemption requests out of thousands submitted so far. 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.
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