(LifeSiteNews) — Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has come out in support of West Virginia Gov. Patrick Morrisey’s executive order allowing for religious exemptions to schools’ vaccination requirements.
Kennedy wrote Monday on X that “I stand with @WVGovernor Patrick Morrisey. His executive order upholds West Virginians’ religious freedom and parental rights while keeping the state in full compliance with federal law. I urge state legislators to support the Governor’s leadership and protect these fundamental rights.”
I stand with @WVGovernor Patrick Morrisey. His executive order upholds West Virginians’ religious freedom and parental rights while keeping the state in full compliance with federal law. I urge state legislators to support the Governor’s leadership and protect these fundamental… pic.twitter.com/c1ieck0imA
— Secretary Kennedy (@SecKennedy) August 25, 2025
“At @HHSgov, we will enforce conscience protections and defend every family’s right to make informed health decisions,” he added.
Kennedy’s support comes amid a heated internal state debate over religious vaccination exemptions and a lawsuit asking for an immediate freeze and then a permanent injunction against the enforcement of Gov. Morrisey’s executive order. The legal challenge was filed May 23 by the American Civil Liberties Union of West Virginia (ACLU-WV) and Mountain State Justice (MSJ) on behalf of Marisa Jackson and Joshua A. Hess, parents concerned about the safety of their physically vulnerable children around other unvaccinated children.
While the original lawsuit was dismissed on a technicality, ACLU-WV said they were refiling the lawsuit in mid-August.
On the opposing side, other parents have sued the West Virginia Board of Education on behalf of their children allegedly “excluded from West Virginia’s educational system” because of their unvaccinated status due to their own religious beliefs.
On July 25, a preliminary injunction was granted against the Boards of Education that allows these students to attend public school without vaccinations until the circuit court judge decides upon a permanent injunction.
The West Virginia Board of Education has thus far defied Morrisey’s executive order, instead abiding by the state’s legal vaccination requirement. A bill that would have codified Morrisey’s executive order, SB 460, failed to pass the legislature.
The Board of Education stated on June 24, “The intent of the State Board is to do what is best for the 241,000 children, 23,000 educators, and 15,000 service personnel in our 629 public schools. This includes taking the important steps of protecting the school community from the real risk of exposure to litigation that could result from not following vaccination laws.”
Morrisey thanked Kennedy for his support in a press release:
Thanks, Secretary Kennedy, for your leadership and your support on this common sense policy. West Virginia shouldn’t be a radical outlier that doesn’t recognize religious exemptions. Forty-five states already have a clear religious exemption for vaccines, and West Virginia has authority with our religious freedom law to recognize this basic right and be the 46th state.
I am asking every legislator to support President Trump and Secretary Kennedy on this issue. We appreciate their strong support in moving our state forward. On interpreting the religious freedom law to provide for religious exemptions for mandatory vaccines, do West Virginia legislators stand with the West Virginia Board of Education – a group of unelected bureaucrats – or do they stand with the Trump Administration and Secretary Kennedy? A very straightforward question which must be resolved soon for our kids!”
The use of cells derived from aborted babies in vaccine development and testing has raised moral objections for many, including Christians, especially concerning the COVID shots. In many states and under the Biden administration, neither health nor moral concerns were enough to stop authorities from attempting to mandate the shots, further intensifying anti-vaccine sentiment.
