Suit was filed last week in a Georgia federal district court by a female Air Force officer who has served in the military for 25 years and who was forced into retirement when she refused for religious reasons to take any of the current COVID vaccines. Her request for a religious accommodation was denied. The complaint (full text) in Air Force Officer v. Austin, (MD GA, filed 1/6/2022), alleges in part:
52. As a Christian, Plaintiff believes that abortion is a grave evil and contrary to her faith.
53. Plaintiff sincerely believes that receiving a vaccine that was derived from or tested on aborted fetal tissue in its development would violate her conscience and is contrary to her faith....
55. In addition, in accordance with her faith, Plaintiff believes that her “body is the temple of the Holy Spirit” (1 Cor. 6:19-20), and that injection with a novel substance of unknown long-term effects would violate this belief.
Plaintiff claims that the Air Force's actions violate RFRA and the 1st Amendment. Thomas More Society issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.
