Congressman seeks law to prevent medical discrimination for COVID vaccine mandates.

Georgia Congressman Proposes Federal Vaccination Bill to End Medical Discrimination

A Georgia congressman and medical doctor, Rep. Richard McCormick (R-Ga.), is taking a stand against what he calls “outrageously unethical decisions” by hospitals that deny transplant patients life-saving organs because they refuse to take the COVID-19 vaccine. McCormick plans to introduce a federal vaccination bill called “My Body My Choice” to end medical discrimination and ensure that hospitals that receive government funding cannot discriminate against patients with moral or medical objections to the vaccine.

A Personal Connection

McCormick’s interest in introducing the bill was sparked by a recent story about a 41-year-old mother of seven who was declared ineligible for a kidney transplant by Emory Healthcare due to her unvaccinated status. McCormick, who did his residency at Emory, personally called Hospital President Bryce Gartland about the mother’s case and was assured that the hospital would not enforce any vaccine mandate in her case. However, the hospital did not respond to requests from The Epoch Times to speak to Gartland.

Natural Immunity

Deborah Catalono, senior counsel for Liberty Counsel, represented the mother in the case with Emory and sent blood test results to the hospital’s transplant center showing that the mother had acquired natural immunity to COVID-19 after recovering from the virus. The hospital changed its policy from requiring the vaccine to recommending it after receiving the test results, which showed that the mother had a greater number of antibodies against the virus than what has been found in fully vaccinated individuals against COVID-19. Other transplant hospitals that received proof of acquired natural immunity from patients they declared ineligible for an organ transplant have also since reversed their COVID vaccine mandate policy.

A Growing Movement

The Epoch Times recently reported that a growing number of transplant centers are ending their mandate policies for the COVID-19 vaccine, including the University of Michigan, which announced it was doing so after a national legal organization, the Pacific Justice Institute, filed a lawsuit against it for removing unvaccinated patients from candidacy lists for a transplant or refusing to put them on. McCormick’s proposed federal vaccination bill would ensure that all hospitals that receive government funding cannot discriminate against patients with moral or medical objections to the vaccine.

• Rep. Richard McCormick (R-Ga.) plans to introduce a federal vaccination bill called “My Body My Choice” to end medical discrimination.
• Hospitals that receive government funding cannot discriminate against patients with moral or medical objections to the vaccine.
• A recent story about a 41-year-old mother of seven who was declared ineligible for a kidney transplant by Emory Healthcare due to her unvaccinated status sparked McCormick’s interest in introducing the bill.
• Deborah Catalono, senior counsel for Liberty Counsel, represented the mother in the case with Emory and sent blood test results to the hospital’s transplant center showing that the mother had acquired natural immunity to COVID-19 after recovering from the virus.
• A growing number of transplant centers are ending their mandate policies for the COVID-19 vaccine.