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 U.S. District Court Judge Damon Leichty in South Bend, Indiana,
rejected the argument by eight students that the school violated
their bodily autonomy and constitutional right to due process.
"This university policy isn’t forced vaccination," wrote the judge.
"The students have options -- taking the vaccine, applying for a
religious exemption, applying for a medical exemption, applying for
a medical deferral, taking a semester off, or attending another
university."
The students sued last month and asked Leichty to block the school's
requirement that students, faculty and staff be vaccinated or
receive an exemption. Exempted students must follow separate
COVID-19 mitigation strategies.
“Today’s ruling does not end the students’ fight -- we plan to
immediately appeal the judge's decision,” states James Bopp, a
conservative activist attorney who represented the students.
COVID-19 vaccines have become a U.S. political flashpoint and the
country has fallen short of President Joe Biden's vaccine goals,
raising concerns that life may not return to normal as the number of
infections are beginning to rise.
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 Leichty, appointed by former
President Donald Trump, said had the students
shown a likelihood that the university was
infringing unreasonably on constitutional
rights, blocking the policy would have been in
the public interest. But he said the students
"have a low likelihood of success" of proving
that.
More than 500 colleges and universities have
mandated the COVID-19 vaccine and Leichty's
ruling appears to be the first in a case
challenging such a policy.
A federal judge in Texas in June dismissed a
case brought by 117 workers at Houston Methodist
Hospital who challenged the facility's employee
vaccine requirement.
(Reporting by Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware;
Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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