Supreme Court Won't Block Indiana University's Vaccine Mandate

U.S.|The Supreme Court won’t artifact Indiana University’s vaccine mandate.

• Aug. 12, 2021, 5:51 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court allowed Indiana University connected Thursday to necessitate students to beryllium vaccinated against the coronavirus.

Eight students had sued the university, saying the request violated their law rights to “bodily integrity, autonomy and aesculapian choice.” But they conceded that exemptions to the request — for religious, ethical and aesculapian reasons — “virtually guaranteed” that anyone who sought an exemption would beryllium granted one.

Justice Amy Coney Barrett, who oversees the national appeals tribunal successful question, turned down the student’s request for exigency relief without comment. She acted connected her own, without referring the exertion to the afloat court, which was an denotation that the exertion was not connected coagulated ineligible footing.

A proceedings justice had refused to artifact the requirement, and a unanimous three-judge sheet of the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, successful Chicago, declined to contented an injunction portion the students’ entreaty moved forward.

“Each assemblage whitethorn determine what is indispensable to support different students harmless successful a congregate setting,” Judge Frank H. Easterbrook wrote for the appeals court. “Health exams and vaccinations against different diseases (measles, mumps, rubella, diphtheria, tetanus, pertussis, varicella, meningitis, influenza and more) are communal requirements of higher education. Vaccination protects not lone the vaccinated persons but besides those who travel successful interaction with them, and astatine a assemblage adjacent interaction is inevitable.”

Judge Easterbrook, who was appointed to the appeals tribunal by President Ronald Reagan, relied connected a 1905 Supreme Court decision, Jacobson v. Massachusetts, which ruled that states whitethorn necessitate each members of the nationalist to beryllium vaccinated against smallpox oregon wage a fine.

The smallpox vaccination request allowed nary exceptions, Judge Easterbrook wrote, portion Indiana University’s request made accommodations for students with spiritual and different objections. (Exempted students indispensable deterioration masks and instrumentality predominant coronavirus tests, requirements that Judge Easterbrook said “are not constitutionally problematic.”)

The assemblage was entitled to acceptable conditions for attendance, helium wrote, conscionable arsenic it tin necessitate the outgo of tuition and instruct students “to work what a prof assigns.”

“People who bash not privation to beryllium vaccinated whitethorn spell elsewhere,” Judge Easterbrook wrote, noting that galore universities bash not necessitate vaccinations. “Plaintiffs person ample acquisition opportunities.”