When it comes to bodily sovereignty, the United States would normally be considered one of the most vocal proponents of the idea, seeing as we are the land of the free and all.
But in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, a vast overreach by the federal government has forced many of us to receive a vaccine that we didn’t wish for, and pushed a number of normally-optional precautions to become egregiously enforced.
In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has long believed that individuals have the right to choose just how much risk they take, and has enacted a ban on any mandates requiring that masks be worn in businesses and institutions – a win for freedom if there ever was one.
But then came the ruling of a federal judge.
A federal judge ruled Wednesday that Gov. Greg Abbott’s executive order prohibiting mask mandates in schools violates the Americans with Disabilities Act— freeing local officials to again create their own rules.
The order comes after a monthslong legal dispute between parents, a disability rights organization and Texas officials over whether the state was violating the 1990 law, known as the ADA, by not allowing school districts to require masks. U.S. District Judge Lee Yeakel barred Attorney General Ken Paxton from enforcing Abbott’s order.
The verbiage appeared designed to make opponents appear cruel and heartless.
“The spread of COVID-19 poses an even greater risk for children with special health needs,” Yeakel said. “Children with certain underlying conditions who contract COVID-19 are more likely to experience severe acute biological effects and to require admission to a hospital and the hospital’s intensive-care unit.”
The news comes during a time in which Texas has been repeatedly targeted by the federal government over their COVID-19 policies, and has many in the Lone Star State wondering if states’ rights are now under attack.
