In Maine and New York, healthcare workers cannot claim religious exemptions for the vaccine mandate put in place. The court rejected the mandate challenge. You can read the Wall Street Journal article about it here. Justice Gorsuch voted in the minority that allows people their religious freedom. The WSJ is paywalled, but here's an excerpt that Michael dissects on the podcast (clip below):
Like wars, the justice wrote, “pandemics often produce demanding new social rules aimed at protecting collective interests—and with those rules can come fear and anger at individuals unable to conform for religious reasons.”
From the SCOTUS Blog, which can be found here:
Gorsuch closed by accusing the court of “stand[ing] silent as majorities invade the constitutional rights of the unpopular and unorthodox.” Gorsuch expressed hope that eventually the justices will reach a different result that is, in his view, more respectful of the free exercise of religion.
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