Judge Matthew McFarlands decision brings the case, Doster v. Kendall, closer to trial as a class-action lawsuit. 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. 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. Theres a case to be made for turning these lawsuits into class action matters, Staver said, so that individual service members dont have to sue or just another case. 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. 300aa-10-300aa-44). 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. Complainants push back on the militarys position that remaining unvaccinated endangers the force and undermines national security, since the vast majority of troops have received all of a one- or two-shot regimen. Read Next: The Navy's Top Enlisted Sailor Is Ready for You to Ask Him Anything. And the way that they are accomplishing their compelling interest is the least restrictive means on the persons religious beliefs. If the court certifies the class does the class become all unvaccinated airmen or everyone whos been denied a religious exemption? The latest data from the military show that roughly 30,000 active-duty service members remain unvaccinated against COVID-19, despite a Defense Department mandate issued in August and deadlines. 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. A federal appellate judge has dealt another blow to the military's coronavirus vaccine mandate by allowing a high-profile class-action lawsuit against the Air Force to move forward. In December, the Air Force announced it had discharged 27 people for refusing to get the COVID . ", -- Konstantin Toropin contributed to this report. 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. 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. In fact, as of Dec. 17, the religious accommodation requests of at least 29 of the 35 naval plaintiffs had been flatly denied. They had been told to get certain vaccines or other things without even be notified of a religious objection.. 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. While in Texas, the sailors offered descriptions of their jobs, in Florida, the biographical information goes into training, deployments and expertise, attempting to make the case that their involuntary discharges would be a huge loss. 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. Government lawyers argue the policy is in line with well-established principles of judicial noninterference with core military decision making, in their briefs. The Florida case, in a 187-page complaint, takes measures much further. 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. As part of the exemption process, service members are required to meet with a chaplain to work through their concerns. If you want to swap with me, and they do that through the employer, or their employer offers that. Dr Terry Adirim, the government bureaucrat behind the infamous and unlawful Pentagon vaccine mandate, will "leave her post in the coming days," reports FedScoop. 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. 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? The Department of the Air Force, which also issues guidance for the Space Force, has detailed it will be rescinding letters of admonishment, counseling or reprimand; records of individual counseling; nonjudicial punishments; and current involuntary discharge proceedings connected to vaccine refusal. Starbucks, for example, doesnt have a vaccine requirement. A 5th Circuit panel rejected the Biden administrations request to block the judges order. 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. In one of manyongoing federal lawsuitschallenging COVID-19 vaccine mandates across the country, Judge Reed OConnor of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas issued a group of Navy SEALs and Naval Special Warfare personnel a resounding victory Jan. 3 inU.S. Navy SEALs 1-26 v. Biden. 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 Air Force number is probably in the same ballpark. 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 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. And so of course, that means you have to bring different lawsuits on behalf of people, depending on what branch of the military that theyre in. 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. "It hasn't done it yet. Similar to the Navy, the Marine Corps is no longer stopping unvaccinated Marines from deployments. 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. 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. 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. 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? 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. Sixty-seven percent of the U.S. population is fully vaccinated. 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. . This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area. It took four years and was licensed in 1967. The Biden Administration has previously admitted that it is not the federal government's role to enforce vaccine mandates. Any sailors who submitted a religious exemption for the COVID-19 vaccine can continue in the Navy under the injunction, according to NAVADMIN 102/22. And theyre discriminating against people in the military. On Feb. 17, the service lifted its policy of banning unvaccinated sailors from deploying. For the Texas case, its more likely those sailors will receive religious exemptions, but that they wont necessarily change the way the military mandates vaccines or reviews exemptions. Her work has appeared in Air Force Magazine, Inside Defense, Inside Health Policy, the Frederick News-Post (Md. 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. The Navy has, however, granted medical exemption requests submitted by other personnel. 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. [Many] didnt even know that there was a religious exemption option, because they had never been informed of it, Staver said. Feb. 23, 2023. By Bethany Blankley (The Center Square) Military leaders will testify on Tuesday before the Military Personnel Subcommittee of the House Armed Services Committee about the impact of the Department of Defense's COVID-19 vaccine mandate on DOD employees and military service members. 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? She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members. Kevin Stitt with Fox News ads 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. The fetal cells were not used to produce either vaccine, National Geographic reported last fall. 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.. 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. Because of those peoples religious beliefs and religious convictions. 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 . Assuming, maybe Im assuming too much. But Im willing to do that. 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. But it may not take a lawsuit for the issue to change the environment when it comes to mandatory vaccination. 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. The Navy began issuing guidance to sailors earlier this month. The vaccine mandate divided Americans and has remained a contentious political issue. 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 first military COVID-19 vaccine mandate will take effect in November. All of the military services have released vaccine refusal policies, none of them involving judicial or non-judicial charges for simply staying unvaccinated. The Pentagon has not provided any public updates or said when the formal policy will be issued. Nov. 2, 2021. 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 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. However, vaccine opponents note that commanders can still make decisions on how and whether to deploy unvaccinated troops, under a memo signed last month by Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. All rights reserved. The latest lawsuit challenging DoD's COVID-19 vaccine mandate says the Air Force's process makes religious accommodations almost impossible to get. Jared Serbu: I want to go back to what you said earlier about the process being a sham, because I want to try and draw how much of an issue that actually is, in these cases. I mean, all of it is just fraught with ideological purpose, and suspected purpose.. 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. More than 800 unvaccinated service members have been ousted from the Air Force so far. 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. 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 new policy guidance to the services makes no mention of reinstating service members who were separated from the military for refusing the shot. What the government will have to prove, in both cases, is that while its granted thousands of medical and administrative exemptions though many of those are temporary that the high bar for approval of religious exemptions is necessary for keeping the force healthy and deployable. Another lawsuit, first filed by troops attached to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, has led to temporary protections for around 10,000 active-duty, Active Reserve, reserve and National Guard members of the Air Force and Space Force who requested a religious exemption from the COVID vaccine, although only those who have been denied an exemption would face immediate action. All rights reserved. 1:51:01 Awkward Andrea Mitchell lectures MSNBC reporter about using term "pro-life" 2:09:32 Baby "chop shop" FOIA lawsuit. 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.. They dont offer what are, in the legal speak, we call advisory opinions. 2:14:14 Pentagon exploring back pay for troops kicked out of military over vaccine mandate. Jared Serbu: Mike, thanks for being here. Military Services Will Amend COVID Vaccine Refuser Records So They Aren't Passed Over for Promotions, UN Nuclear Head Meets With Iranians Amid Enrichment Concerns, Philippine Governor, 5 Others Killed in Brazen Attack, China: Defense Boost to Meet 'Complex Security Challenges', Biden and Scholz: US, Germany in 'Lockstep' on Ukraine War, Air Mobility Command Removes Tail Numbers and Unit Info from Planes, Alarming Watchdogs, All Combat-Injured Vets Would Keep Their Full Retirement, Disability Pay Under Proposal, Better Housing, Health Care, Pay and a Call for National Service Needed to Buoy Recruitment, Enlisted Chiefs Say, 2 Commanders Among 6 Fired from Jobs at Minot Air Force Base, Veterans' Emergency Room Bills Could Get Repaid by VA Thanks to Change, The Pentagon Is Behind on Issuing Policy to Allow Cadets Who Have Kids to Remain at Service Academies, The Navy's Top Enlisted Sailor Is Ready for You to Ask Him Anything, the service lifted its policy of banning unvaccinated sailors, Navy Lifts COVID-19 Vaccine Requirement for Deployments, The Personally Procured Move (PPM): Steps to Take, Service Members Get Special Rental and Eviction Protection, The Servicemembers Civil Relief Act - SCRA, Paris Davis, Black Green Beret in Vietnam, Finally Awarded Medal of Honor at White House, Ex-Army Private Gets 45 Years for Plot Against His Unit, Ohio Guard Quietly Removed Guardsman Guilty of Making Ghost Guns Last Year, Some Neck and Hand Tattoos OK for Airmen and Guardians Under New Policy Aimed at Helping Recruiting, Nuclear Base Fired 6 Service Members Over Failed Safety Inspection, Defense Official Says, Hawaii Congressional Delegation Asks IRS to Exempt Red Hill Families, Navy Seabee Battalion Honored in Decommissioning Ceremony, Is Deactivated After 80 Years of Building and Fighting, Navy Investigating 3 Instances of 'Hate Symbols' Aboard Destroyer, Health Net Protests $65.1 Billion Tricare Contract Award, Tricare Dental Program to Expand Choice of Carriers Under New Law, Veterans Group Pushes Cap on Attorney Fees in Camp Lejeune Water Cases Despite Political Divide on Limits, Disabled Vets Post Stunning Job Gains as Economy Remains Hot Despite Inflation, Marine Corps Axes Elite Scout Sniper Platoons, Coast Guard Relieves Commander Following Deadly Collision, Coast Guard Swimmer Recounts Dramatic Rescue of Alleged Oregon Yacht Thief and Goonies Prankster, Coast Guard Gulf of Mexico Rescue to Be Chronicled in Survival Thriller Movie, Celebrated Pearl Harbor Survivor Jack Holder Lived Large for Those Who Didn't Make It, 'Dead Space' Remake Gets Everything Right, Army Veteran Wayne Shorter Was a Titan of Jazz. 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. Other service members have struck out on their own to fight the mandate. Night shifts arent popular, especially on Friday night, and things like that. The story seems pretty similar to whats going on with these airmen. 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. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. 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. Lawyers for a group of Navy SEALS and other Navy personnel who refuse to be vaccinated for religious reasons told a 5th U.S. 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. In January of last year, a federal judge in Texas barred the Navy from taking any action against the Navy plaintiffs for being unvaccinated. 3 min read POINT PLEASANT, NJ A U.S. Marine from Point Pleasant who was discharged. 2:41 . 11. Other plaintiffs focus not on the abortion issue, but on several Bible passages that refer to the body as a temple. Only the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is manufactured using fetal cell lines. Pfizer-BioNTech Covid-19 vaccine syringes at a vaccination clinic in the Peabody Institute Library in Peabody, Massachusetts, on Jan. 26, 2022. 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. 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. 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. Pfizer and Modernas mRNA products used cells replicated from a fetus aborted in the 1970s to make sure the vaccines worked in human cells. Lawyers are waiting to see if a federal court in Georgia will stop the vaccine mandate nationwide through another class-action preliminary injunction as well. Several lawsuits have been filed by sailors opposing the mandate and challenging the Navy's approach to reviewing the religious exemption requests. A dozen U.S. Air Force officers have filed a lawsuit . 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. 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. Rachel Cohen joined Air Force Times as senior reporter in March 2021. FILE - Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington, Nov. 16, 2022. The Air Force has approved 135 religious exemption requests out of thousands submitted so far. In the filing, attorneys argue that the plaintiffs are facing criminal conviction and dishonorable discharge, which would strip them of any veterans benefits. Hey you have the Friday night shift, right? Until any harm is remedied, according to Bruns, the case is still active. The quickest vaccine ever developed was for mumps. President Joe Biden signed the. Punishing SEALs for simply asking for a religious accommodation is purely vindictive and punitive. Quite the contrary, they view life whether their own or that of their fellow servicemembers as sacred and deserving protection.. The service members who filed the lawsuit represent more than 350 collective years of military service, and more than 100 combat deployments. Biden appointee behind unlawful military vaccine mandate to step down. "Marines will defer to Combatant Command policies regarding deployments.". There is no verifiable evidence that COVID-19 vaccines have killed, or will kill, more military personnel than the disease itself. Need help accessing the FCC Public File due to a disability? (Susan Walsh/AP, File). The NAVADMIN, referencing the injunction, prevents adverse action against sailors who will not get the COVID-19 vaccine and submitted a religious exemptions request. While it allowed service members to apply for religious exemptions to the mandate, it has not granted a single one. Were going from a 50-step process to a zero-step process? Duncan asked. 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. Plaintiffs, therefore, do not object to safety measures that reduce the transmission of COVID-19 in the workplace, it reads. The U.S . Jehovahs Witnesses, who ban military service for their members, are probably the most prominent. The government really cant scrutinize belief very far.. 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. Other federal court challenges to various COVID-19 vaccine mandates are ongoing. Well, what if somebodys not really sincere? But there may be good reason for that. 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. Theres been a lot of great saints that have gone to prison, so Im willing to do that.. A timeline of when vaccines are due was left up to the . 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. 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. The law says that sincerely held religious beliefs are to be taken at face value. This piece originally appeared in The Daily Signal. Hubbard Radio Washington DC, LLC. But in terms of the underlying legal issues that are raised, no, theyre exactly the same. The Heritage Foundation, a petitioner in the case challenging the private-sector vaccine mandate,has asked the courtto invalidate the governments order. So for example, in a different context, somebody who says that theyre a Sabbath observer, and they cannot work on the Sabbath, but that theyre willing to trade ships with somebody, most of the cases Ive seen, theyre actually willing to take, what most people consider be a less favorable shift. There was no indication when the judges would rule. Jared Serbu: Yeah, theres a ton. The Florida filing also spends much more time on the biographies of the complainants. Kevin Stitt has pushed back on the COVID-19 vaccine mandate for the military that would apply to the Oklahoma National Guard. Follow him on Twitter @TomNovelly. That leaves around 14,400 airmen and guardians less protected in the COVID-19 pandemics third year. Those records are supposed to be cleared by March 31, according to the guidance. 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. Copyright 2023 Hubbard Radio Washington DC, LLC. Plaintiffs sincerely held religious beliefs that their bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit and that they are to glorify God with their bodies lays the foundation for everything they do, consume, or inject into their bodies, according to the Florida lawsuit. 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. At 1,038, the Marine Corps leads the military branches for the most separations. 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. Our military, I mean, you can open any news feed that you want. "We will continue to promote and encourage COVID-19 vaccination for all personnel to ensure readiness, facilitate mission accomplishment, and protect the force.". 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. 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. 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. They argue that their. 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. The population of people seeking religious accommodations now is fairly small.. Mike Barry:No, really, I mean, this is happening across the entire Department of Defense. Because they will not compromise these religious beliefs, Plaintiffs have been threatened with separation from the military and other disciplinary action. Another plaintiff is fighting in court after trying to retire one alternative to vaccination the Air Force offered.