In Babiy v. Oregon Health and Science University, (D OR, April 22, 2024), an Oregon federal district court dismissed claims for damages brought against a medical school and involved individuals by a patient access specialist who was denied a religious exemption from its Covid vaccine mandate. The University's policy was to deny religious exemptions where their claim was based solely on fetal cell concerns. The court said in part:
... Plaintiff has failed to prove that it was clearly established at the relevant time that the Doe Defendants were barred from (1) attempting to distinguish between religious and secular objections to a vaccine or (2) in that effort, denying exemptions to a state-mandated vaccine mandate to employees who expressed ostensibly religious objections to the use of fetal cells in the development of the vaccine. Accordingly, the Court grants Defendants’ Motion and dismisses Plaintiff's second claim under the doctrine of qualified immunity to the extent that Plaintiff seeks damages. The Court, however, denies Defendants’ Motion to the extent that Plaintiff seeks declaratory or injunctive relief under her first amendment claim.
