Tufts doctor sues after being fired over COVID vaccine

Tufts Medicine, in a statement to the Globe, declined to comment on the pending litigation, but said the COVID-19 vaccine has been “a vital tool in reducing the risk of serious illness, hospitalization and death,” citing the effectiveness of federal and state administrations. vaccine mandates.

“The health and safety of our patients, visitors and staff has always been, and will continue to be, our highest priority,” the statement said.

At the time of Gabana’s firing, most healthcare workers in Massachusetts were not required by state law to get vaccinated against COVID-19. Instead, many hospital systems, including Tufts, Mass General Brigham and Dana Farber Cancer Institute, implemented their own policies. Some hospital systems reported laying off hundreds of workers who refused to take the hit.

Last year, the State Public Health Board standardized its vaccination requirements, meaning health care workers generally must have vaccines against COVID-19 and the flu. However, the new law offers wide scope for exemptions, including religious beliefs and “personal reasons”.

Gabana, described as a “practicing Christian” in the filing, requested a religious accommodation to the hospital’s vaccination policy in September 2021. Her objections stemmed from concerns that the vaccines would be “developed or were evaluated with aborted fetal line cells.” according to the dress

“The sanctity of human life, including the unborn, is an important tenet of my faith,” he wrote. “Using this vaccine is a violation of my faith.”

During the early testing and development of some of the COVID-19 vaccines available in the United States, researchers reproduced cells that were originally obtained from elective abortions. None of the three COVID vaccines approved or licensed in the United States contain aborted fetal cells, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Many Catholic leaders, including Pope Francis, have said that COVID vaccinations are morally acceptable. Historical fetal cell lines have been used to create vaccines for other diseases such as hepatitis A, rubella and rabies.

Gabana’s lawyer, Richard C. Chambers Jr., said the lawsuit does not challenge the effectiveness or safety of the vaccine, but discrimination against his client’s religious beliefs.

“I’m not fighting this battle about science or politics or choice,” Chambers told the Globe Thursday. “I am saying that there is a law that says you can put two exemptions; one is medical and the other religious. In this particular case, my client … opted for that waiver and said, “No, we’re not giving it to you.”

Chambers alleged that Tufts, instead of rejecting the exemption on the grounds that it would cause “undue hardship” to the hospital’s operations, questioned the veracity of his client’s faith.

“When your client says, ‘I have a deeply held religious belief,’ and they say, ‘No, no, you’re faking it, you don’t,'” the Lynnfield attorney said. “What else can you do?”

In January, a similar lawsuit filed by a fired Boston Medical Center nurse was dismissed for failing to properly explain or specify the plaintiff’s religious beliefs.

In August, a federal appeals court judge ruled against a former office manager at Beth Israel Deaconess-Milton Hospital, who was also fired in 2021 after refusing to take the vaccine for religious reasons.

The plaintiff in that case, Amanda J. Bazinet, was also represented by Chambers, who said the August decision could be a starting point for plaintiffs like Gabana.

“You can’t judge someone whether or not they really have a deeply held religious belief,” he said. “It’s up to God and ultimately it’s going to be up to the jury. But you can’t dismiss someone’s case by saying you don’t think they have it.”

Material from previous Globe stories was used in this report.

Camilo Fonseca can be contacted at [email protected]. Follow him on X @fonseca_esq and on Instagram @camilo_fonseca.reports.