The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday decided it would not step in to block a COVID-19 vaccine requirement for health care workers in Maine, which does not offer religious exemptions.
Most U.S. states with vaccine requirements for health care workers do provide opportunities for religious exemptions, a point some health care workers who legally contested the requirement raised in their request for the Supreme Court to step in ahead of the state's vaccination deadline.
In the opinion, Gorsuch contrasted Maine's lack of religious exemptions with those offered by other states and said those who would prefer a religious exemption option believe the state's requirement "violates foundational principles of their religious faith.".
Maine Governor Janet Mills introduced the state's requirement for all health care workers to be vaccinated against the virus in August.
The mandate did not provide religious exemptions for health care workers, per a decision made by the state legislature in September 2019 that "eliminated religious exemptions to vaccination requirements for health care workers and mandated the removal of religious exemptions from all Department vaccination requirements.".
In light of Mills' vaccine mandate, some health care workers argued it violated their right to exercise their religion and filed legal challenges.
The request argued that most other U.S. states do offer religious exemptions for vaccines, while the health care workers in Maine who cited religious reasons for not getting vaccinated were faced with "immediate termination" once the deadline passed. »
