"Jeune submitted her exemption request in October 2021, stating in part that receiving a COVID vaccination "would prevent me from worshipping my God." She also leveled false accusations that COVID vaccines could genetically alter her body. "The body is the temple of God," Jeune wrote, adding that while she would not turn her back on modern medicine, "proceeding with Covid-19 [vaccination] would be a sin against my conscience."
"In rejecting Jeune's request weeks later, the UMass Memorial religious exemption committee deemed her assertion about the vaccines' supposed genetics-altering capabilities "patently false" and ruled that "reliance on demonstrably false information cannot be a basis for a religious accommodation." According to court filings, the health care system's COVID vaccine mandate stipulated that employees granted exemptions would be required to wear personal protective equipment, socially distance, and undergo frequent testing."
Rachelle Jeune requested a religious exemption after stating she received a distinctive message from God telling her not to get the COVID-19 vaccine and that vaccination would prevent her from worshipping. She asserted vaccines could genetically alter her body and wrote that proceeding with vaccination would be a sin against her conscience. UMass Memorial's religious exemption committee denied the request, calling her vaccine assertions patently false and citing reliance on demonstrably false information. The health system required exempted employees to use PPE, social distance, and undergo frequent testing. An Appeals Court allowed Jeune's lawsuit to proceed by overturning a lower court dismissal.
Read at Boston.com
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