Creighton University students' COVID-19 vaccine mandate appeal dismissed

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The Nebraska Supreme Court on Friday dismissed an appeal by a handful of Creighton University students who sought to be exempt from the private Catholic school’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate last year, arguing that getting the shots would violate their religious beliefs against abortion.

The state’s high court said it didn’t have jurisdiction, citing its 150-year stance that people can't appeal orders denying or granting temporary injunctions. In this case, a judge last year declined to issue a temporary injunction that would have blocked Creighton University’s requirement that all students get the COVID-19 vaccination.

"Because the court’s denial of a temporary injunction was not a final order, we lack jurisdiction of the appeal and must dismiss it," Justice William Cassel wrote for the court.

The 10 students who sought the injunction said they had religious objections to the vaccines because they "were developed and/or tested using abortion derived fetal cell lines."

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Laboratory-grown cell lines descended from fetuses that were aborted decades ago were used in some early-stage testing of the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines and to grow viruses used to manufacture the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. The vaccines do not contain fetal cells.

The Vatican declared in 2020 that it is "morally acceptable" for Roman Catholics to receive COVID-19 vaccines based on research that used cells derived from aborted fetuses when "ethically irreproachable" vaccines aren’t available.

Douglas County District Judge Marlon Polk said in his September 2021 ruling that he wouldn’t order the mandate be