A federal judge in Macon on Tuesday blocked the Pentagon from requiring a U.S. Air Force officer based in Georgia to comply with the Biden administration’s COVID-19 vaccine mandates.
In his 32-page order, U.S. District Court Judge Tilman Self III said the mandates violate the First Amendment and the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
“All Americans, especially the court, want our country to maintain a military force that is powerful enough to thoroughly destroy any enemy who dares to challenge it,” said Self, who was appointed by President Donald Trump.
“However, we also want a military force strong enough to respect and protect its service members’ constitutional and statutory religious rights. This ruling ensures our armed services continue to accomplish both.”
Self’s order narrowly applies to the Air Force officer, who is not identified by name or rank in the lawsuit. Assigned to Robins Air Force Base, the officer is citing her Christian beliefs and arguing the military’s vaccine requirement violates her First Amendment right to freely exercise her religion.
Filed last month, her suit names Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin III, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall III and Air Force Surgeon General Robert Miller as defendants. The Thomas More Society, a conservative Chicago-based law firm, is representing the officer.
“This is a great victory for religious freedom,” said Stephen Crampton, a senior counsel with the Thomas More Society. “It is disgraceful how the military in general has disrespected fundamental First Amendment rights.”
The vaccines, the officer says in her lawsuit, were “derived from or tested on (as part of their development) aborted fetal tissue.” She added that, as a Christian, she believes “abortion is a grave evil and contrary to her faith.”
The Pentagon and Air Force previously declined to comment on the lawsuit. But the Air Force says on its website that Pfizer and Moderna did not use fetal cells to manufacture their vaccines, though they were used in early research for them. This is not a new practice. Historic fetal cell lines were used in the research, production and manufacturing of many over-the-counter medications, according to the Air Force, including Tylenol, Pepto Bismol and Sudafed.
The officer appealed the Air Force’s rejection of her request for a religious exemption. And the Air Force surgeon general rejected that appeal, saying her job requires intermittent-to-frequent contact with others and that not getting vaccinated “would have a real adverse impact on military readiness and public health and safety.”
She is pursuing a separate civilian request for a religious exemption. And while that request is pending, according to her lawsuit, she can continue to work on the base, so long as she takes regular COVID-19 tests, wears a mask and maintains social distancing.
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