A Raleigh County judge has scheduled a hearing this week to determine whether a preliminary injunction would be appropriate in a mother’s lawsuit over the state’s current school vaccination requirements.
Judge Michael Froble scheduled a 10 a.m. Thursday hearing at the Raleigh County Judicial Center.
“The court recognizes the urgency of ruling on Plaintiff’s motion for a preliminary injunction in light of the upcoming school year and the students potentially affected,” Froble wrote.
The lawsuit filed on behalf of a Raleigh County mother is a flashpoint in an ongoing policy dispute over mandatory vaccine requirements in West Virginia schools. It asks for an injunction by July 25 to prohibit the state and county school systems from enforcing West Virginia’s compulsory vaccination law.
The plaintiff is Miranda Guzman, described in the lawsuit as a widow trying to enroll her 4-year-old daughter in public school.
The lawsuit says the mother believes “she must not tinker with” her daughter’s “God-given natural immune system.” And, “Plaintiff sought guidance from the Holy Spirit through prayer, and gained what she is certain is firm direction from the Holy Spirit that she must not vaccinate” her daughter.
The lawsuit contends Guzman has sincere religious beliefs against vaccinating her child, based on her opposition to abortion and a connection between vaccines and fetal cells.
The American Academy of Pediatrics maintains that vaccines do not contain fetal cells:
“Some vaccines involve growing viruses in human cell cultures originally developed from two aborted fetuses in the 1960s. These cell lines are still going, so no new aborted fetuses are ever needed. Purification processes filter the vaccine during production, and no fetal tissue remains.”
Gov. Patrick Morrisey, a Republican, expressed support for the lawsuit the day it was filed last month, leading a press event in the Beckley area.
This week, Morrisey’s administration entered a request to weigh in on the case through a friend of the court brief. Included in the request were the governor and his administration’s secretary for the Department of Health, Arvin Singh.
The motion contends that as governor, Morrisey “bears a compelling interest in ensuring that the constitutional and statutory rights of West Virginians are respected, particularly those involving the free exercise of religion, parental autonomy and public health authority.”
Morrisey’s administration has continued to stand behind an executive order issued during the governor’s first week in office. Morrisey described the basis as the “Equal Protection for Religion Act,” which went into law in 2023.
Morrisey had called for legislation this year specifically allowing West Virginia families to declare religious and philosophical exemptions to the state’s school vaccination requirements. However, on March 24, the House of Delegates voted 42-56 to kill a bill reflecting that policy.
So what remains in West Virginia code is a requirement that West Virginia students entering school for the first time show proof of immunization against diphtheria, pertussis, tetanus, polio, measles, mumps, rubella, varicella, and hepatitis B unless properly medically exempted.
Earlier this year, Morrisey’s administration issued a directive for families wanting to pursue a religious exemption to send basic information to VaccineExemption@wv.gov, which is monitored by the state Bureau for Public Health.
In turn, the state Board of Education voted to direct Superintendent Michele Blatt to issue guidance to the county school systems that they follow the current compulsory school vaccination law that does not permit religious exemptions for students.
At the center of Morrisey’s argument is the “Equal Protection for Religion Act,” which became law in 2023. The Raleigh County judge initially assigned to the case, Todd Kirby, was a state delegate in 2023 and among the sponsors.
The policy lays out the ability of individuals who believe their religious rights have been violated to seek a claim in court. The law says no state action may burden an individual’s exercise of religion unless it’s essential to furthering a compelling governmental interest and is the least restrictive means of achieving that.
The lawsuit in Raleigh County contends the state’s policies are not the least restrictive means of ensuring protection from communicable disease.
The filing indicates Guzman attempted to enroll her daughter in public school and sent an email to ask about the vaccination policy: “I have been very confused and concerned with the latest news that I have heard from the state Board of Education and I want to know if Raleigh County will be accepting the religious exemption or not.”
The lawsuit indicates a response came from Raleigh County Superintendent Serena Starcher, who thanked her for the email and wrote: “Raleigh County Schools will follow direction provided by the West Virginia Board of Education at its recent meeting.