CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Today, a Raleigh County judge issued a preliminary injunction in favor of Governor Patrick Morrisey’s Executive Order 7-25, which upholds West Virginia’s Equal Protection for Religion Act of 2023 by granting religious exemptions to compulsory vaccine requirements. As a result of today’s decision, the Raleigh County Board of Education must allow the plaintiffs’ children to attend school while the case continues.
Governor Patrick Morrisey applauded the decision as a step forward in the administration's effort to defend religious liberty.
“Today’s ruling is another legal victory in the fight for religious freedom,” said Governor Morrisey. “No family should be forced to choose between their faith and their children’s education, which is exactly what the unelected bureaucrats on the State Board of Education are attempting to force West Virginians to do. My administration will continue to grant religious exemptions to compulsory vaccine requirements and uphold West Virginia’s Equal Protection for Religion Act until this case is fully settled.”
Miranda Guzman, Amanda Tulley, and Carley Hunter are suing the West Virginia State Board of Education and the Raleigh County Board of Education after their children were denied religious exemptions granted under Governor Morrisey’s executive order.
Governor Morrisey has defended his executive order on the basis of the Equal Protection for Religion Act of 2023. When interpreted alongside the state’s current vaccine policy, he argues that religious liberties must be upheld and religious exemptions should be granted.