By Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON — In his first public reaction to a lawsuit filed last week, Gov. Patrick Morrisey said that his executive order allowing for religious and philosophical exemptions to West Virginia’s mandatory immunization program for entering public and private schools was not violating state law.
During a press conference Wednesday afternoon at the State Capitol Building, Morrisey said his executive order instead clarifies State Code based on legislation passed in 2023 that prohibits excessive government limitations on the exercise of religious faith.
“I think that there’s been a mischaracterization of our position,” Morrisey said. “The executive order interprets the law that was passed by the Legislature, so it’s interpreting both the laws together. You can’t just ignore the laws.”
Attorneys with the ACLU-WV and Mountain State Justice filed a lawsuit last Friday on behalf of Kanawha County and Cabell County parents seeking a writ of mandamus from the Kanawha County Circuit Court directing the Governor’s Office to abide by the state’s mandatory immunization program for children entering public and private schools. They are also seeking to have Morrisey’s executive order deemed unlawful or invalid.