In a letter to The IU Family for Choice, not Mandates, read at a rally at IU Bloomington today, The Bopp Law Firm has advised students that the IU COVID-19 vaccination mandate is unconstitutional and that the law firm is considering litigation.

The letter reads as follows:

To Leadership of The IU Family for Choice, not Mandates,

You have retained The Bopp Law Firm to determine whether the IU COVID vaccination mandate violates the rights of students attending Indiana University this fall.

We have completed our preliminary research and believe that the constitutional rights of IU students are violated by this draconian and unwarranted policy.

Indiana University is a public university. As a government institution, it is subject to the restraints of the Bill of Rights and the Fourteenth Amendments which together protect the freedom and liberty of students against unwarranted restrictions on that freedom.

Of course, a key part of a person's freedom and liberty is one's bodily integrity. As a result, the government cannot force a person to take a drug, which the person does not consent to, absent compelling justifications.

It is now obvious that there is no compelling need to require college students to be forced to be vaccinated for COVID-19. First, medical experts have found that students in this age group have a very low risk of adverse effects from a COVID-19 infection. Those potential adverse effects are very rare and, in fact, are dwarfed by the risk of injury, and even death, from many, much more common, causes, such as alcohol and drug use, automobiles use and suicide. And the risks associated with COVID-19 are rapidly decreasing.

Second, the COVID vaccination has its own risks that are increasingly becoming known.

Thus, it is perfectly rational for students to decide for themselves if the benefits of a COVID-19 vaccination is worth the risks.

And finally, any student who feels the need to be protected against a COVID-19 infection just needs to get vaccinated, which is readily available.

Furthermore, the two exceptions to the vaccination mandate are themselves totally inadequate and unconstitutional. First, for those students who obtain a religious exemption, they are still subject to draconian restrictions and limitations including twice weekly testing, for which there is no corresponding religious exemption. This violates the First Amendment.

Second, the medical exemption is not available at all for those students who have already been infected with COVID-19 and are now immune. And medical studies are now showing that the immunity obtained by having been infected with COVID-19 is just as effective as a vaccination.

As a result, we believe that the constitutional rights of the following students are violated by the IU COVID-19 mandate and they have a constitutional law suit against IU that we are considering bringing:

(1) any current IU student who objects to the vaccination mandate but does not qualify for, or declines to seek, either of the exemptions.

(2) any current IU student who has filed for a religious exemption but has been denied.

(3) any current IU student who has been granted a religious exemption but has a religious objection to either the mask or frequent testing required for those with a religious exemption, and

(4) any current IU student who has had a COVID-19 infection and objects to being required to also be vaccinated.

Any student, who think their rights are violated and fall within any of these four categories, can contact The Bopp Law Firm through the link on the website of The IU Family for Choice, not Mandates., or can email me at [email protected]