On Tuesday, a federal judge in Louisiana issued a preliminary injunction against President Joe Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for healthcare workers across the nation.
According to Fox News, Judge Terry A. Doughty in the U.S. District Court Western District of Louisiana ruled in favor of a lawsuit helmed by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican. Attorneys General from 13 other states joined Louisiana in the lawsuit.
In the suit, Landry urged the judge to block an emergency order issued on Nov. 4 by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services that requires vaccinations for nearly all of its staff, volunteers, and contractors at healthcare facilities receiving Medicare or Medicaid funding.
In the ruling, Doughty argued that the Biden administration lacks the constitutional authority to bypass Congress to issue the vaccine mandate.
"If the executive branch is allowed to usurp the power of the legislative branch to make laws, two of the three powers conferred by our Constitution would be in the same hands," he wrote. "If human nature and history teach anything, it is that civil liberties face grave risks when governments proclaim indefinite states of emergency.
"During a pandemic such as this one, it is even more important to safeguard the separation of powers set forth in our Constitution to avoid erosion of our liberties," he continued.
Doughty also noted that the case "will ultimately be decided by a higher court than this one," but that it is essential "to preserve the status quo in this case. The liberty interests of the unvaccinated requires nothing less."
In a separate statement, Landry commended the ruling and vowed that he will continue to "fight for liberty."
"I applaud Judge Doughty for recognizing that Louisiana is likely to succeed on the merits and for delivering yet another victory for the medical freedom of Americans," Landry wrote. "While Joe Biden villainizes our healthcare heroes with his' jab or job' edicts, I will continue to stand up to the President's bully tactics and fight for liberty."
"While our fight is far from over, I am pleased the Court granted preliminary relief against the President's unconstitutional and immoral attack on not only our healthcare workers but also the access to healthcare services for our poor and elderly," he continued. "I will see this case through to the end – fighting every step of the way to prevent the federal government from imposing medical tyranny on our citizens and turning last year's healthcare heroes into this year's unemployed."
Tuesday's ruling comes a day after U.S. District Judge Matthew Schelp of the Eastern District of Missouri also issued a preliminary injunction against the Biden administration's vaccine mandate for healthcare workers in 10 states.
Photo courtesy: ©Getty Images/Karl Tapales
Milton Quintanilla is a freelance writer and content creator. He is a contributing writer for CrosswalkHeadlines and the host of the For Your Soul Podcast, a podcast devoted to sound doctrine and biblical truth. He holds a Masters of Divinity from Alliance Theological Seminary.
