The Alabama Legislature late Thursday night passed two bills solidifying Alabamians’ rights concerning COVID-19 vaccination. Gov. Kay Ivey (R-AL) on Friday signed the two Republican-led bills into law.
Senate Bill 9 outlines workers’ rights concerning religious and medical exemptions to the COVID-19 vaccination. Additionally, Senate Bill 15 dictates that student minors cannot receive the vaccine without first obtaining parental consent. Violators of this law may face penalties from the attorney general’s office.
In announcing her official signing of the legislation, Ivey noted her fierce opposition to President Joe Biden’s vaccine decrees.
“Last week, when I issued my executive order to fight the overreaching Biden vaccine mandates, I reiterated that as long as I am your governor, the state of Alabama will not force anyone to take the covid-19 vaccine,” declared the governor.
“From the moment the White House rolled out their scare tactic plans to try to force this vaccine on Americans, I called it for what it is: an un-American, outrageous overreach,” Ivey added. “Alabamians – including those like myself who are pro-vaccine – are adamantly against this weaponization of the federal government, which is why we simply must fight this any way we know how. That is exactly why I have signed Senate Bills 9 and 15 into law. This is another step in the fight, but we are not done yet.”
The governor indicated that she was hopeful the state’s legal challenge to Biden’s edict, which was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Georgia last week, would prove successful.
“From issuing the executive order to joining governors in Georgia, South Carolina and other states in suing the Biden Administration, we are doing everything we can to try to get this decision to the U.S. Supreme Court where, hopefully, this overreach will be stopped dead in its tracks,” she stated.
Ivey sounded the alarm over the adverse effects the president’s vaccine mandates could have on the national economy.
“If the Biden Administration presses on with these mandates, the country’s economy will suffer for it.” she warned. “Alabamians – and all Americans – should not have to choose between putting food on the table and getting this shot. I will continue doing everything I can as your governor to fight this thing every step of the way. Alabama will not stand idly by and allow the Biden Administration to get away with this.”
Dylan Smith is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @DylanSmithAL
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