US Coast Guard allows officer to refuse vaccination on moral grounds

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http://www.cwnews.com/news/viewstory.cfm?recnum=58527

US Coast Guard allows officer to refuse vaccination on moral grounds

Washington, May. 20, 2008 (LifesiteNews.com/CWN) - US Coast Guard officials

have backed down in the face of pressure from a pro-life law firm that

recently filed a lawsuit on behalf of a Coast Guard officer who, officials

told him, must submit to a vaccine that was derived based on fetal tissue

from abortions.

Lt. Cmmdr. ph Healy, who is Catholic, said the vaccine's derivation

violates his pro-life moral and religious beliefs.

Coast Guard officials who initially refused to excuse an officer from the

injection relented after the Alliance Defense Fund filed the suit. Last week

the Coast Guard notified the US District Court for the District of Columbia

that it will grant Healy a religious exemption. As a result, ADF attorneys

plan to file a motion to dismiss the lawsuit they filed for Healy in January

“Christians shouldn't be punished for abiding by their beliefs against

abortion. The Coast Guard has done the right thing in recognizing that those

who lay their life on the line to defend our shores are entitled to the same

freedom as anyone else not to have their particular beliefs disregarded, "

ADF attorney Matt Bowman told LifeNews.com.

“Members of the U.S. Military should never be forced to make an

unconstitutional choice between honoring their country and adhering to the

belief that health and medicine can prosper without exploiting the killing

of pre-born children,” Bowman said.

In May 2006, the Coast Guard, which requires its personnel to be vaccinated

against a variety of diseases, ordered all active-duty personnel to receive

one of two vaccines against Hepatitis A or show proof of immunity. The

vaccines are derived from cells taken from the lung tissue of a child who

was electively aborted at 14 weeks gestation and then dissected.

The Coast Guard allows religious exemptions for those who hold a " religious

tenet or belief contrary to immunization. " In compliance with Coast Guard

requirements, Healy submitted a memo requesting religious exemption based on

his Catholic faith and strong opposition to abortion. In response, Capt.

Brent Pennington denied the request because he disagreed with Healy’s

theology, claiming that Catholic teaching " does not state that these

immunizations are against the religious tenets of the Catholic Church. " With

the denial, Healy could have been forced, under threat of severe penalty, to

receive the immunization against his will. ADF attorneys had also filed a

motion to prevent that from occurring while the lawsuit moved forward.

" Those who lay their life on the line to defend our shores are entitled to

the same religious freedoms as anyone else, " Bowman concluded. " Members of

the U.S. Military should never be forced to make an unconstitutional choice

between honoring their country and honoring their faith. "