Doctor Meets 7th Cir. Skepticism in Bid for Vaccine Exemption

A Seventh Circuit panel signaled that it’s unwilling to help a doctor get an immediate court order forcing an Indiana hospital to rehire him despite his religion-based refusal to get vaccinated against Covid-19.

One judge during oral argument Tuesday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago homed in on the speculative nature of Paul Halczenko’s alleged irreparable harm from not getting rehired by Ascension St. Vincent Hospital right away—that not practicing medicine would cause his skills to atrophy and cost him his career.

Other members of the three-judge panel—all of whom were appointed by President ...