![\"\"](\"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/08\/Amy-Coney-Barrett-700x420-1.jpg\")
Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett stands during a group photo of the Justices at the Supreme Court in Washington, DC on April 23, 2021. (Photo by Erin Schaff \/ POOL \/ AFP) (Photo by ERIN SCHAFF\/POOL\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p><\/div>\n
By Isabel van Brugen
\nThe Epoch Times<\/p>\n
Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett on Thursday declined to block\u00a0Indiana<\/a>\u00a0University\u2019s (IU) COVID-19 vaccine requirement which takes full effect this fall, offering no explanation for her decision.<\/p>\n Barrett, an appointee of former President Donald Trump, made the decision alone in response to an emergency request from eight IU students who sued the school in June. The students argued that the inoculation requirement would violate their constitutional rights by forcing them to receive unwanted medical treatment.<\/p>\n The eight students filed a motion for emergency relief following\u00a0a lower court\u2019s decision last week that sided with the\u00a0university\u2019s decision to require<\/a>\u00a0all students returning to campus on Aug. 23 to get vaccinated or else have a religious exemption or a medical condition.<\/p>\n The university on May 21 informed all students that failure to be vaccinated against COVID-19 by the fall semester will result in students\u2019 class registrations being canceled and their university-issued IDs terminated, and they will be prohibited from any on-campus activity.<\/p>\n Those who are exempted from the vaccine are required to get tested for COVID-19 twice a week and wear masks, IU said.<\/p>\n The students in court filings argued that they have \u201ca constitutional right to bodily integrity, autonomy, and of medical treatment choice in the context of a vaccination mandate.\u201d<\/p>\n Indiana University did not immediately respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n More than 80 percent of IU students have reported receiving at least one dose of the\u00a0CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus<\/a>\u00a0vaccine, IU\u00a0spokesman Chuck Carney told The Associated Press last week.<\/p>\n The decision comes as a growing number of schools and employers are mandating vaccinations, responding to a surge in cases of the more contagious Delta variant of the CCP virus.<\/p>\n The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said in an Aug. 6\u00a0update<\/a>\u00a0that new data on the Delta variant shows that no vaccine is 100 percent effective as\u00a0fully vaccinated people are\u00a0still capable<\/a>\u00a0of spreading the virus to others, although vaccinated people \u201cappear to be infectious for a shorter period.\u201d<\/p>\n The agency added that breakthrough infections of the Delta variant \u201cseems to produce the same high amount of virus in both unvaccinated and fully vaccinated people,\u201d bringing into question whether vaccine mandates are justifiable given the implications for government infringement on individual liberties.<\/p>\n The CDC didn\u2019t respond to a request for comment on the matter.<\/p>\n James Bopp, a lawyer for the students, told several news outlets that they are \u201cdisappointed that Justice Barrett refused to intervene.\u201d He added that the students will continue to challenge the vaccine requirement at lower courts.<\/p>\n \u201cIU\u00a0students are adults entitled to make medical treatment decisions for themselves, unless IU can prove in court that their COVID vaccine mandate is justified, which they have not done and that the courts have not required them to do,\u201d the attorney said.<\/p>\n![\"Epoch](\"https:\/\/img.theepochtimes.com\/assets\/uploads\/2021\/07\/19\/2021-06-11T153751Z_3_LYNXNPEH5A0R0_RTROPTP_4_HEALTH-CORONAVIRUS-VACCINES-JOHNSON-JOHNSON-600x400.jpg\")
<\/a>