Judge Reed O'Connor of the U.S. District Court Northern District of Texas has issued a preliminary injunction on Monday against the Biden administration, arguing that the U.S. Department of Defense failed to respect the religious objections of several service members who refused to get vaccinated against COVID on religious grounds.
The judge concluded that the Navy SEALs are likely to succeed in their claim that the COVID vaccine requirement violates their religious freedom.
"The Navy provides a religious accommodation process, but by all accounts, it is theater," Judge O'Connor, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, wrote sharply, as reported by the Christian Post. "The Navy has not granted a religious exemption to any vaccine in recent memory. It merely rubber stamps each denial."
Judge O'Connor wrote in the 26-page decision that the Navy SEALs members "seek to vindicate the very freedoms they have sacrificed so much to protect," which the Biden administration has "no license to abrogate."
The federal judge added that "There is no COVID-19 exception to the First Amendment. There is no military exclusion from our Constitution."
In November, a lawsuit was filed against the Biden administration by 35 U.S. Navy personnel, 26 of which were Navy SEALs. The group is being represented by the First Liberty Institute (FLI), a Texas-based conservative legal nonprofit known for bringing justice to religious liberty cases.
The plaintiffs also argued in the lawsuit that they received "direct, divine instruction not to receive the vaccine," Military.com reported. Notably, the Pentagon requires service members to receive several vaccines, including the anthrax vaccine "for special operators in some environments."
One plaintiff, a sailor, recounted a previous experience in which he received negative side effects from a previous vaccination. He remarked, "Through prayer and reflection, this plaintiff has determined that receiving a COVID-19 vaccine similarly would defile his body."
"Forcing a service member to choose between their faith and serving their country is abhorrent to the Constitution and America's values," FLI's general counsel Mike Berry said in a written statement, as reported by Reuters.
The Navy SEALs argued in the lawsuit that they believe that "all life is sacred" and taht "abortion is the impermissible taking of an innocent life in the womb." Because of this belief, they are unable to take the COVID vaccine, which testing, development, or production involved "aborted fetal cell lines."
In August, the Pentagon ordered all U.S. military personnel to comply with a COVID vaccine mandate by mid-September for the reason of combat readiness. Axios reported that as of late December, about 98% of all active-duty forces, including reserve members, have been vaccinated against COVID. The Biden administration is expected to appeal the injunction issued by the federal judge who ruled in favor of the Navy SEALs.
Since the beginning of the COVID pandemic in February 2020, there have been 261,504 cases of coronavirus infections among U.S. service members. COVID has also taken the lives of 82 service members.
