Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett declined to block Indiana University’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate on Thursday, marking the first time the court has been asked to weigh whether requiring the shot is legal.
In a legal battle closely watched by schools and private enterprises around the country, a group of students from Indiana University had asked the Supreme Court last week to strike down the college’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement. The plaintiffs argued that they have legitimate concerns about the risks associated with the vaccine, underlying medical conditions and natural antibodies.
“All students are adults, are entitled to make their own medical treatment decisions, and have a constitutional right to bodily integrity, autonomy, and of medical treatment choice in the context of a vaccination mandate. IU, however, is treating its students as children who cannot be trusted to make mature decisions,” the students’ lawyer wrote in the court filing.
The students requested the justices respond by Aug. 13.
Without referring to the full court, Justice Barrett without comment declined to issue an injunction against the Bloomington, Ind. school.
The Trump appointee oversees filings out of the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. Lower courts had already refused to grant the students’ request to block the vaccine mandate.
Chuck Carney, a spokesman for the school, said the high court’s move now allows the university to welcome students back in a safe manner.
“With a third ruling, now from the nation’s highest court, affirming Indiana University’s COVID-19 vaccination plan, we look forward to beginning fall semester with our health and safety policies in place. We are grateful to those who have stepped up to protect themselves and others; 85% of our students, faculty and staff are approaching full vaccination,” he said.
There is a 100-year old precedent for mandating vaccines.
The Supreme Court has ruled a state can mandate vaccinations in a case from 1905, Jacobson v. Massachusetts.
Health, The New York Today
