Preliminary injunction granted in Raleigh County religious vaccine exemption lawsuit

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WOWK) – Legal battles surrounding religious exemptions for school vaccinations continue, this time in a Raleigh County courtroom.

A judge in Raleigh County has granted a preliminary injunction in a lawsuit filed against the Raleigh County Board of Education, requiring them to allow the plaintiffs’ children to attend school while the case goes through the court system.

The lawsuit was filed against the Raleigh County Board of Education and the West Virginia State Board of Education following a decision to follow the state’s existing vaccine mandates, despite an executive order from Governor Patrick Morrisey meant to require religious exemptions for vaccinations.

“Today’s ruling is another legal victory in the fight for religious freedom,” said 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.”

This comes just one day after a Kanawha County judge dismissed a lawsuit the ACLU-WV filed on behalf of parents of immunocompromised children. That lawsuit argued that immediate action needed to be taken to completely halt the Department of Health’s compliance with Morrisey’s executive order with the school year just around the corner.

However, the judge ruled the plaintiffs did not give the state agencies sued enough notice and that there was not enough proof of irreparable harm to constitute an exception to that law.