A Georgia federal judge temporarily stopped the U.S. military’s Covid-19 vaccination mandate from being enforced against an Air Force officer who sought a religious exemption.
The order was issued a month after the unnamed Christian officer filed a lawsuit claiming that the mandate violated her religious beliefs.
According to the suit, the officer believes that a vaccine derived from aborted fetal tissues in its development would violate her conviction and be contrary to her faith. It also states that she believes that injecting her body with a novel substance of unknown long term effects would contradict her belief that her body is the temple of God.
U.S. District Judge Tilman Self III ruled Tuesday that the military didn’t respond to the argument of the officer that the Covid vaccine requirement significantly restricted her freedom to practice religion.
He wrote, “And, how could that?” “Very few scenarios paint an even grimmer picture than giving your livelihood up to follow your religious beliefs.”
Self pointed out that 99.76% of religious accommodation requests have been rejected by the Air Force. He said that it had denied them all up to the approval of nine in the last two weeks.
He wrote that “With such a disfavorable record in respect of religious accommodation requests, it is easy for the Court to find that the Air Force’s process to protect religious right is both illusory as well as insincere.” It’s essentially a show of ‘theater.
“All Americans, including the Court, want our nation to maintain a strong military force capable of destroying any enemy that dares to challenge its power,” Self later added in his written decision. This applies only to the officer. We also want a military force that respects and protects the constitutional and statutory religious rights of its service members. This ruling will ensure that our armed forces continue to achieve both.
A spokesperson for the Air Force stated that the service was aware of the preliminary injunction, and would adhere to the Court’s Order until the matter has been resolved legally.
According to her lawsuit, the officer contracted coronavirus in December 2020, and since then has been positive for antibodies twice. She is currently stationed at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia.
In December, the Air Force denied her request for religious accommodation. The defendants in her lawsuit are Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall.
Stephen Crampton was a lawyer for the officer and cheered the decision.
Crampton of the Thomas More Society said, “This is a huge victory for religious freedom.” The Thomas More Society is a national non-profit law firm. It describes its mission as “restoring law respect for life, family, and religious liberty.”
He said, “It’s disgraceful that the military has not respected fundamental First Amendment rights.”