West Virginia Governor Adds Religious Exemption for School Vaccine

Requirements

Building Impetus for AVFCA's Lawsuit for CA to do the Same!

West Virginia and Mississippi only ever had medical exemptions for school vaccine requirements.  They never had personal belief or religious belief exemptions.  While other states, such as California, Maine, Connecticut and New York were striping their students of these rights, Mississippi added a religious exemption through a legal win and today on his first full day in office, West Virginia Governor Patrick Morrisey signed an executive order allowing students to request exemptions from mandatory school vaccinations based on religious or moral beliefs (https://apps.sos.wv.gov/adlaw/executivejournal/readpdf.aspx?DocID=97525). 

This order ends one of the nation’s most restrictive vaccination policies and marks a significant shift in West Virginia’s approach to vaccination requirements for schools and childcare centers. The new policy allows parents to submit a written statement explaining their objections to specific vaccines on religious or conscientious grounds to exempt their children from the state’s compulsory immunization law.

The executive order builds upon West Virginia’s Equal Protection for Religion Act, enacted in 2023, which guarantees that the state cannot interfere with a person’s religious freedom unless it pursues its interests in the least restrictive way possible. Governor Morrisey emphasized the importance of this alignment, stating that the previous policy’s lack of religious exemptions denied families their constitutional rights under the First Amendment. The new order ensures that West Virginians can refuse vaccines for reasons tied to their beliefs, affirming the principles of religious and personal freedom within the state.

The exemption process is straightforward, with parents required only to provide a written statement to qualify.  Governor Morrisey acknowledged the need for legislative clarity in the upcoming session to align the vaccine laws with the Equal Protection for Religion Act. The governor’s actions signal a broader effort to ensure the state’s policies respect both public health goals and constitutional rights.This change in law bolsters A Voice for Choice Advocacy's lawsuit against SB 277, which would also add a religious exemption to school vaccine requirements in California.  Unfortunately, and not without trying, CA does not have a Governor or Legislature that would make these changes through the legislative process, which is why a win in CA has to go through the court system.  Background and the various court pleadings for our case can be found on our website: https://avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/avfca-litigation/.  This is one of the most important lawsuits in California today, as it has the greatest chance of bringing back the ability for children to attend school without being fully vaccinated.  No matter what the Trump administration and RFK Jr do to Make America Healthy Again, it will take lawsuits like these to get our constitutional rights back in California.

Lawsuits take time and are very expensive.  AVFCA's legal team is prepared to take these cases all the way to the Supreme Court.  While AVFCA's legal team generously charges us a discounted hourly rate, this lawsuit will require hundreds of hours of their time and will likely cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.  Thus far these cases have cost over $110,000, and we have a long way to go!  AVFCA has taken on paying for this lawsuit because of our passion for Health Rights and Medical Freedom, as well as our desire to ensure Religious Rights when it comes to vaccine mandates.  But AVFCA is completely funded by donations made by you.  If you want to see a religious exemption instated for school vaccine requirements in California, as well as titer testing allowed in lieu of vaccination please donate today, so we can ensure this lawsuit will bring health rights and medical freedom back to California’s children. AVFCA does not often ask for donations, but this is one of those times...

For other ways to donate and support A Voice for Choice, please go to our website:

https://avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/donate Over the last 10 years A Voice for Choice Advocacy, and our sister organization, A Voice for Choice, have been sustained only by grassroots donations, as well as my own significant donations.  We are so thankful to everyone who has generously donated.  However, AVFCA always needs your help to make our efforts sustainable.  If you appreciate the work we do, AVFCA asks you to donate as generously as you can - no amount is too little or too great!  If you are not already, please consider becoming a monthly donor: www.avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.org/donate Thank you in advance for your generosity.  Together we can make change happen!

Christina HildebrandPresident/FounderA Voice for Choice Advocacy, Inc.christina@avoiceforchoiceadvocacy.orgwww.AVoiceForChoiceAdvocacy.org