West Virginia to allow religious exemptions for vaccines, governor announces

Most states have religious exemptions for vaccination requirements, but West Virginia is not one of them.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey, however, says that will soon change.

The Republican, who took…

Most states have religious exemptions for vaccination requirements, but West Virginia is not one of them.

Gov. Patrick Morrisey, however, says that will soon change.

The Republican, who took office earlier this month, says his administration will interpret the state’s “Equal Protection for Religion Act” as applying to religious vaccine exemptions in public and private schools. 

The 2023 law says the state cannot “substantially burden” one’s constitutional right to freedom of religion unless it “is essential to further a compelling governmental interest.” 

Morrisey said doing so would align West Virginia with the rest of America. 

“I think most West Virginians care very deeply that our citizens have religious beliefs, and we also know that the First Amendment to our Constitution has specific clauses calling for free association,” he told reporters last week. 

“We believe that the ‘Equal Protection for Religion Act’ strongly argues in favor of religious and conscientious exemptions,” he added. “West Virginia right now is an outlier. There are only several states that don’t recognize religious exemptions. Today that changes.”

His administration will soon announce a process for people to receive religious vaccine exemptions. 

“We would envision something along the lines of if someone submits an affidavit that they have that religious belief and regardless of the vaccine, that would meet the definition of the law that was passed a couple of years ago that I don’t believe was fully and properly enforced,” he told MetroNews

This move comes after then-Gov. Jim Justice, a Republican, vetoed a bill last year to create a religious vaccination exemption in virtual public schools and all private schools. 

“Since this legislation was passed, I have heard constant, strong opposition to this legislation from our State’s medical community,” Justice said in a March 2024 press release. “The overwhelming majority that have voiced their opinion believe that this legislation will do irreparable harm by crippling childhood immunity to diseases such as mumps and measles.”

Some small Christian sects oppose vaccination on theological grounds, such as the Dutch Reformed Church, Church of the First Born, Faith Assembly, and Endtime Ministries, according to the Vanderbilt University Medical Center.

Additionally, some pro-life organizations and supporters oppose vaccines either produced or tested with cell lines derived from aborted babies.

The Catholic Action League of Massachusetts, for example, has called vaccines “abortion tainted.” 

Although West Virginia is adding religious exemptions for vaccines, some states are trying to remove them.

In Massachusetts, Democrat lawmakers backed a bill last year that would have ended religious exemptions for childhood vaccinations in public and private schools. The measure, however, never came up for a vote.