Indiana University students are suing the school for demanding students to get the COVID-19 vaccine. The eight students who filed the federal lawsuit allege that the university’s mandate violates their constitutional rights as well as state law.
The lawsuit alleges that compulsory vaccination violates the Fourteenth Amendment to the US Constitution, which includes the right to personal autonomy and physical integrity, and the right to refuse medical treatment.
She also claims that by requesting vaccination records that indicate vaccination status, the university is violating state laws that prevent local organizations from requesting vaccination records.
However, vaccine requirements are implemented in many schools and workplaces across the United States, including California’s two largest university systems and hundreds of other universities.
In addition to all Indiana University campuses, many other universities in the state require students to receive the COVID vaccine.
The students involved in the lawsuit range from aspiring freshmen to Ph.D. and law students at the university. The school said there will be ramifications for those who refuse the vaccine and are not given an exception, including canceled class enrollments, canceled university-issued IDs, and restricted activity on campus.
The university allows vaccination exemptions for religious objections, a documented allergy to the vaccine, medical deferral, and for online students in a fully online course with no on-campus attendance.
The lawsuit alleges that even those granted exemptions are subject to additional requirements, including twice weekly risk mitigation tests, mandatory quarantine if exposed to someone who tests positive for COVID, and mandatory face masks in public spaces.
Those who are vaccinated are also eligible for incentives such as a student parking pass, a bookstore gift card, credit for on-campus restaurants, an Apple Watch, AirPods Pro, credit for full-time state education, and season tickets to the Indianapolis Colts or Indiana Repertory Theater, so the complaint.
The lawsuit alleges that the committee that made the vaccine mandate decision made that decision without evidence. The students argue that the university’s mandate “contradicts the basic tenets of medical ethics that require voluntary and informed consent for any procedure or drug that poses a medical risk to a person.”
However, the CDC recommends that eligible Americans “should be vaccinated whether or not they have had COVID-19”.
The CDC also recommends that all teachers, school staff and children over the age of 12 “get a COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible” as “widespread vaccination is a critical tool in containing the pandemic”.
Earlier this month, Indiana University Health officials protested the system’s vaccine mandate and held a demonstration on campus.
source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/indiana-university-students-sue-over-vaccine-requirement/
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