NorthShore Health System Staff Sue Over Religious Exemptions To Vaccine Mandate

EVANSTON, IL — With less than a week to go before a vaccination deadline for NorthShore University HealthSystem staff, more than a dozen employees filed a federal civil rights lawsuit seeking to keep their jobs without getting a jab.

Filed Monday on behalf of 14 employees — 11 nurses, a pharmacy technician, a patient access representative and a senior application analyst, identified as Jane Does 1 through 14 — the complaint alleges that NorthShore's mandatory vaccination policy violates the Illinois Health Care Right of Conscience Act, Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, and the Emergency Use Authorization statute.

NorthShore has required all of its 17,000 workers to get vaccinated by Oct. 31. Patch requested information on how many have already provided proof of vaccination, and how many have applied for and been granted exemptions. According to representatives of the health care system, "the vast majority" have been vaccinated, and "a small fraction" requested exemptions.

But according to the lawsuit, the exemption process is a "sham" that discriminates against people based on their religious beliefs.

"[Jane Does 1-14] all have sincerely held religious beliefs that preclude them from complying with the Mandatory COVID-19 Vaccination Policy because of the connection between all three COVID-19 vaccines (in their origination, production, development, or testing), and the cell lines of aborted fetuses," the suit alleges.

The Johnson & Johnson vaccine is produced using an adenovirus grown using a cell line that traces back to a fetus aborted more than 35 years ago, leading some bishops and other prominent Catholics to reject it. Neither the Pfizer nor Moderna vaccines was developed or produced using abortion derived cells, but cells that originated with a 1970s-era fetus were used to test their efficacy.

Pope Francis called on the faithful to get a vaccination "authorized by the respective authorities," calling it an "act of love," in an August video message.

"[Jane Does'] sincerely held religious beliefs compel them to abstain from obtaining or injecting any of these products into their body, regardless of the perceived benefit or rationale," their lawsuit said.

"In addition, [Jane Does] have sincerely held religious beliefs that their body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, and to inject medical products that have any connection whatsoever to aborted fetal cell lines would be defiling the Temple of the Holy Spirit," it continued. "Through much prayer and reflection, [Jane Does] have sought wisdom, understanding, and guidance on the proper decision to make concerning these COVID-19 vaccines, and [Jane Does] have been convicted by the Holy Spirit in their beliefs that accepting any of the three currently available vaccines is against the teachings of Scripture and would be a sin."

The complaint was signed by Chicago-based attorney Sorin Leahu. Horatio Mihet, an attorney with Orlando-based Christian ministry Liberty Counsel who co-signed the complaint, is seeking permission for he and his colleagues to appear in the Northern District of Illinois, where they have not been admitted to practice. They are seeking class action status for the plaintiffs.

They attached to their complaint 32 anonymous statements from employees at other health care providers that attest that they have been provided religious exemptions from vaccine mandates. Four of them work in Illinois, including three Advocate employees and one person who works at the University of Chicago Medical Center.

Gov. J.B. Pritzker has issued an executive order mandating that health care workers get vaccinated against COVID-19 or take part in regular testing for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes the disease. But NorthShore officials have decided not to offer the testing option.

Among the other issued raised in the complaint: NorthShore does not require hospital visitors or patients to be vaccinated, has granted exemptions to pregnant women, included a warning that religious objections based on aborted fetal cell lines would be denied and has not taken into account employees who have antibodies from past COVID-19 infections, which more than half of the Jane Doe plaintiffs are alleged to have had.

Earlier this month, Liberty Counsel's attorney sent a letter to NorthShore's attorneys demanding that the health system provide the 14 workers with reasonable accommodations for their religious beliefs or face a lawsuit. It described the exemption form as dishonest, false and unlawful.

In response to a letter from Mihet, NorthShore attorney Joan Casciari said requests for religious exemptions were reviewed by a multi-disciplinary committee with an option to appeal, and that "such endeavor has taken significant time and resources of several individuals to ensure a thorough evaluation."

Casciari said hospital officials made a decision that having unvaccinated staff on site would create an unnecessary risk.

"As a result, a decision was made that those granted exemptions from the COVID-19 vaccine may only work in positions that can be performed on a nearly 100% remote basis. This was not a decision made lightly," Casciari said. "Now more than ever, NorthShore needs and wants each of its team members and will experience real operational impact if any one team member leaves. Ultimately, however, this cannot stand in front of NorthShore’s commitment to safety."

According to the attorney's Oct. 18 response, health system officials would not issue detailed explanations of the reasons for their denial of requests for religious exemptions, although they are "generally based on the individual’s inability to articulate a sincerely held religious belief that directly ties to the refusal to receive the COVID-19 vaccine in his/her own words."

Addressing Mihet's 14 clients, Casciari said all but one of them, whose appeal was still pending, had their exemption request approved — but it would be an "undue hardship" for NorthShore for them to remain working on site. In their case, NorthShore officials were considering offering them a fully remote position or the opportunity to apply for a fully remote position, according to the letter.

But according to the lawsuit, NorthShore has yet to make any such job offers. It has instead begun removing unvaccinated employees from its November schedule.

“NorthShore University HealthSystem cannot ignore state and federal law and terminate employees whose sincere religious beliefs prohibit them from receiving these COVID shots," said Mat Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, in a statement Monday announcing the 51-page complaint. "These health care workers need immediate relief from the court from these unlawful actions.”

NorthShore spokespeople said in a statement that the vaccination rate among its employees had "grown significantly" over the past several months.

"We also understand that getting vaccinated may be a difficult decision for some of our team members. We value their committed service and respect their beliefs. However, COVID-19 has presented unique challenges that continue to threaten our communities and therefore we must prioritize the safety of our patients and team members in support of our broader mission. As healthcare workers, we’re entrusted to provide the safest, most effective patient care possible," it said.

"We implore our colleagues who remain vaccine hesitant to at least reconsider for the benefit for everyone’s health and safety; and because they’re part of an extraordinary and talented team," it continued. "We know these are unprecedented times that continue to evolve in a pandemic that has already cost millions of lives. But we believe that the vaccines have proven to be safe and effective in the fight against COVID-19."