PATIENT PROTECTION: Court overrules “most extreme antivax law” for healthcare providers
A Montana law that made it illegal for hospitals to ask employees about vaccination status goes too far, according to a federal judge, who agreed with plaintiffs’ argument that the rule would violate protections for disabled Americans.
The state’s Attorney General, Austin Knudsen, has spoken in opposition to vaccine mandates, but has not yet stated how he plans to proceed in light of this ruling.
Defenders of the law claim it protects healthcare workers from ‘discrimination’ based on vaccination status, and that it ensures their ‘free choice’ to make decisions about their own bodies and healthcare.
However, this only restates the same question that has been central throughout the pandemic: what is the balance between one’s right to make healthcare decisions for oneself, and the obligation not to endanger patients?
The bill plays on fears of so-called ‘vaccine passports,’ and forbids employers to deny employment based on vaccination status, and defines denying any privilege, including education opportunities and employment, to a person based on their vaccination status.
Despite conspiracy theorists’ claims that they’re defending against COVID-19 vaccines they see as ‘experimental’ or believe are unsafe, the law doesn’t limit this provision to that category of vaccine, or even to only recently-released vaccines.
As a matter of course, certain employers — including healthcare providers, military branches, and other options that require travel outside the country or interaction with immune-compromised patients — may require some or all employees to be vaccinated against certain diseases.
Under the law in question, a hospital might not even be able to reassign an employee, such as, for instance, moving an unvaxxed provider from a chemotherapy ward to a different area of the hospital where patients are less vulnerable.
Healthcare providers sued to prevent the law’s implementation, and have officially prevailed. Propublica reports:
The Montana Medical Association and other groups challenged the legislation in a federal lawsuit, and [U.S. District Judge Donald W.] Molloy issued a preliminary injunction in March…During hearings on the case, immunocompromised patients testified about how routine medical visits had put them at high risk because health facilities could not ensure basic protections.
Now the judge’s final ruling makes the decision permanent and official, and state officials are considering how to move forward.
They could appeal the ruling, or draft new, more targeted legislation.
The Montana Free Press reports that the final order, issued Friday, affirms that the legislation also violated the Occupational Safety and Health Act, because vaccine-preventable disease are recognized as workplace hazards, and that vaccines are the best way to prevent their spread.
The full bill can be read here.
