West Virginia Judge Blocks Ban on Religious Vaccine Exemptions

West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey. Photo: Andrew Harnik/Getty Images

CHARLESTON — West Virginia officials recently suspended the state’s school vaccination mandate after a circuit judge ruled that parents may claim religious exemptions for their children to attend class and participate in school activities.

As reported by the Associated Press, Raleigh County Circuit Judge Michael Froble issued a permanent injunction last Wednesday allowing families who object to compulsory vaccinations on religious grounds to opt out, finding that a state policy blocking such exemptions violates the Equal Protection for Religion Act, signed in 2023.

The state Board of Education, which had directed schools to ignore an earlier executive order permitting religious exemptions, said it will suspend its compulsory vaccination policy while the ruling is appealed to the state Supreme Court.

Republican Gov. Patrick Morrisey — who issued the January executive order enabling religious exemptions but was not a party to the lawsuit — called the decision “a win for every family forced from school over their faith.”

The lawsuit, brought by parents including Miranda Guzman, challenged the rescinding of previously granted exemptions. Froble expanded the case last month into a class action covering 570 families and future applicants, saying the number of exemptions represents a small share of students and would not significantly impact public health.

West Virginia, long known for having one of the strictest school immunization standards in the nation, requires vaccines for chickenpox, hepatitis B, measles, mumps, rubella, polio, tetanus, whooping cough, diphtheria, and meningitis.

At least 30 states now have religious-freedom laws modeled on the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which allows challenges to government actions that burden religious belief.

Previously, UOJ reported that Florida planned to end all vaccine mandates.

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