Eight Indiana University students filed an appeal Tuesday after a federal judge upheld the school’s COVID-19 vaccine requirement.
The case now moves to the Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit.
“The federal district court found that Students constitutional rights were at issue, but failed to acknowledge that these rights were fundamental,” attorney James Bopp Jr. said in a statement.
The students said their rights to bodily integrity and bodily autonomy are so fundamental that IU should have to justify the mandate at a higher bar than they already have.
“In addition to appealing, we have asked the district judge to prevent IU from enforcing its Mandate while the appeal is pending,” Bopp said in the statement. “Preventing enforcement of this mandate and continuing to fight is the only way to protect these students and guarantee that their fundamental constitutional rights are not violated.”
Judge Damon Leichty issued a ruling Monday upholding the university’s mandate, citing two previous Supreme Court rulings that upheld states’ authority to compel reasonable vaccinations.
Read More: Federal Judge Denies Preliminary Injunction Against IU Vaccine Mandate
Leichty wrote in his decision that “states don’t have arbitrary power, but they have discretion to act reasonably in protecting the public’s health.”
Students, faculty and staff can request an exemption from getting the vaccine for religious or health reasons.
