Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
PHILADELPHIA - A supervisor at a Pennsylvania children's hospital who refused the COVID-19 vaccine because he thought the apocalypse was upon us will get a chance to argue his wrongful termination lawsuit before a jury.
Philadelphia federal judge Joel Slomsky on May 29 denied Children's Hospital of Philadelphia's motion for summary judgment on Donald Glover's claim that it was his religious right to refuse the vaccine.
He was fired in November 2021 after quoting the Book of Revelation in his request for an exemption from the vaccine, which was mandated to all CHOP employees months earlier, though other workers obtained exemptions.
In his words:
"It is my sincere religious [belief] that the whole world has entered a PROPHETIC TIMELINE based on the book of REVELATIONS 6th Chapter and the 2nd verse, of the HOLY Bible, Which states 'And I looked and behold, a white horse. He who sat on it had a BOW; and a CROWN was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.' The BOW is the vaccine and BOW translates to POISON in the GREEK. And CROWN is another word for CORONA as in CORONA VIRUS. Hence, I believe the vaccine to be TOXIC . . . Vaccine was made at WARP speed, Vaccine is an experiment and risk benefit is not favorable."
Glover started at CHOP in December 2017 as a supervisor in its biomedical engineering department and said he'd been a practicing Christian for 20 years. He had previously sought exemptions for other vaccines, like the annually required flu shot.
CHOP said his COVID explanation didn't demonstrate his sincerely held religious beliefs prohibit vaccination, but Glover appealed. This time, he pointed to the fetal cells that were used to determine the vaccine.
"The sixth commandment says 'You shall not murder' (Exodus 20:13), I believe that abortion is gravely wrong at every stage. Furthermore, I believe a physical body is given to each of us in our quest to fulfill our destiny and purpose here on earth," he wrote.
That appeal was denied in October 2021, with CHOP claiming Glover expressed his constitutional rights were more important than his religious objection. He was fired a month later after refusing the COVID vaccine.
He was out of work then moved to a new job at a children's hospital in Tennessee. In 2024, Slomsky denied CHOP's motion to dismiss.
In his latest ruling, Slomsky wrote there still remains a genuine dispute of material fact over whether Glover's beliefs were religious.
"First, his beliefs address fundamental and ultimate questions of life and death, right and wrong, and good and evil," Slomsky wrote.
"For example, one reason he cites to explain his aversion to receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is his belief that abortion is murder and thus 'gravely wrong.'"
Whether other claims about the speed at which the vaccines were developed and their risk-benefit ratio nullify his religious objections is for a jury to decide, Slomsky wrote.
Complicating matters is the fact that this all took place at a hospital. Glover interacted with patients, but some nurses who also did were given exemptions as long as they took precautions like distancing, frequent tests, wearing masks and completing a daily symptom tracker.
"Thus, even though Plaintiff's job at CHOP involved some patient interaction, Defendant seemingly had no qualms about granting exemptions to other employees whose jobs also involved interacting with patients," Slomsky wrote.
