West Virginia’s highest court will hear arguments as to whether public-school students still need to be vaccinated, with the state Board of Education arguing “herd immunity” could be compromised if the justices agree with Gov. Patrick Morrisey.
The West Virginia Supreme Court said Friday it will take up a Raleigh County case involving the state’s religious freedom law, cited by plaintiffs who want to attend public school without being vaccinated against diseases like Measles, Mumps and Pertussis.
The court had already taken up the issue of class certification in the case. Now, it will decide whether the Raleigh County court was right to rule the Equal Protection for Religion Act overrides the state’s Vaccine Law.
“Measles is proliferating in nearby states,” the BOE wrote. “Pertussis killed three children in Kentucky in the past year. Childhood vaccination rates continue to decrease.
“Through it all, West Virginia’s Vaccine Law serves as a bulwark for public health, driving West Virginia to the highest kindergarten vaccination rate in the nation.”
Morrisey held a press conference June 24 with attorney Aaron Siri announcing a lawsuit filed on behalf of Miranda Guzman, a Raleigh County mother against the state Board of Education and the Raleigh County BOE.
The governor said his administration supports such a legal challenge to defend the religious liberty of West Virginia families.
Guzman is seeking a religious exemption from mandatory vaccinations for her 4-year-old daughter. Her request is grounded in her faith-based objections to the use of fetal cells to develop vaccines.
Although Guzman and her daughter initially received an exemption under Morrisey’s Executive Order earlier this year enforcing the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 2023, the exemption later was denied by the Raleigh County Board of Education.
“As governor, I will always defend the religious liberty of West Virginians, and I won’t allow unelected bureaucrats at the state Board of Education to stand in the way,” Morrisey said. “Religious liberty is already enshrined in West Virginia law – and we are going to enforce that law.”
A leader of a group that supports immunizations expressed disappointment with Morrisey’s support of litigation against a state government agency.
“Why would the governor put kids at risk by supporting a lawsuit based on misinformation and junk science?” asked Jessie Ice, PhD, co-director of West Virginia Families for Immunizations. “Today’s press conference is a distraction from the real issue: we have vaccine laws that work, and this attempt to undermine them puts West Virginia children and communities at risk.”
In its filing with the Supreme Court, the BOE said the matter is of “paramount public importance” to everyone in the state. So much so, that any time spent at the Intermediate Court of Appeals would be a waste, it said.
“A swift ruling clarifying this issue restores normalcy to the public school system and clarifies what, exactly, is required to attend public school in West Virginia,” the BOE said.
