West Virginia is at a legal and moral crossroads on childhood immunization, and Governor Patrick Morrisey put us here.
Morrisey’s executive order upon taking office earlier this year said the state’s Equal Protection for Religion Act, passed in 2023, gives parents the power to opt out of vaccinations due to reasons of faith.
However, the state Board of Education supports the long-standing immunization law, which allows for exemptions only for medical reasons, and it has instructed county boards of education to follow the law.
Parents on both sides have taken the issue to local circuit courts, and the outcomes have been mixed. In Raleigh County, Judge Michael Froble has attempted to combine the cases of more than 570 families, and last week he held two days of hearings.
The sometimes confusing and occasionally conflicting testimony did produce moments of clarity. One, in particular, came from state epidemiologist Shannon McBee. She was asked that since the religious freedom law was passed in 2023, why hasn’t the state Bureau of Public Health developed a religious exemption process?
She answered succinctly: “Because government has a compelling interest in public health.” When asked why the health department did not offer religious exemptions in 2024, she said, “Because we have the strongest vaccination law in the country.”
On follow-up questions, McBee testified the agency instituted a religious exemption process only after Morrisey issued his executive order.
She also told the court that the health agency simply told parents it would not enforce the compulsory immunization law because the governor ordered them to disregard it. It is indeed chilling when a chief executive believes he has the authority to tell a state agency to ignore the law.
All this may be sorted out when Judge Froble issues his decision next month. But meanwhile, more cases are being heard in county circuit courts while the judge’s decision is pending.
Confusing? Absolutely. And also, unnecessary.
Earlier this year, the West Virginia Legislature failed to amend the state’s immunization law to include religious exemptions. Therefore, the existing immunization statute which allows only for medical exemptions remains intact.
Meanwhile, more cases of measles are cropping up across the country. NPR reported this week, “The U.S. has now confirmed 1,563 cases this year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — the highest annual number in more than three decades.”
In South Carolina, 153 unvaccinated students exposed to measles are quarantining. There is a growing measles outbreak in border areas of Arizona and Utah. “Nearly all the cases occurred in people who were not vaccinated,” NPR reported. “Six required hospitalizations.”
Health officials warn that as vaccinations slip, there will be an increasing number of cases of the highly infectious disease. According to the CDC, one person with measles can infect 12-18 unvaccinated individuals.
Morrisey’s legally questionable executive order undermines the existing and effective vaccine requirements for school children. By doing so, he has opened the door to myriad legal challenges that are producing a hodgepodge of outcomes while increasing the health risk to West Virginia children.