President Donald Trump is facing pressure to use his executive power to block hospitals from denying organ transplants for people not vaccinated against COVID-19 after reports emerged that Vice President JD Vance’s 12-year-old relative was reportedly denied a heart transplant over her COVID-19 vaccination status
In a letter to President Trump, Rep. Michael Rulli (R-Ohio) alongside Rep. Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) called on Trump to take action. Rep. Rulli said he was partially moved to act after hearing about Vance’s relative.
The letter, signed by Rulli, Houchin and five other House Republicans, cited Trump’s executive orders ending COVID-19 vaccine mandates in schools and reinstating military service members who were discharged for not getting the vaccine. (RELATED: Trump Reinstates Service Members Discharged Over COVID-19 Vaccine In Executive Order Flurry)
“Over the past week, it has come to light that multiple desperate Americans have been denied life-saving organ transplants due to their COVID-19 vaccination status,” the letter said. “This outrageous denial of care has affected some of our most vulnerable citizens – including a child from Indiana and a veteran from Ohio.”
Houchin told Fox News, “Patients – especially children – should never be turned away from care due to government-imposed mandates. This effort urges President Trump to take action to ensure no hospital or transplant center can discriminate against patients based on their decision to decline the COVID-19 vaccine.”
“President Trump has done such a great job recently on executive orders,” Rulli told Fox News Digital in an interview. “And I am asking President Trump if he sees this, to please do an executive order… because you could save someone’s life today.”
“The timing is everything. If we don’t get this done, people’s lives could be at risk.”
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The girl’s mother, Jeneen Deal, told the Daily Mail that giving her daughter the vaccine would violate the family’s religious beliefs.
Vance said in comments to the Daily Mail that he would try to help.
“I guess it’s been circulating on social media, but I was made aware of a couple days ago, and we’re trying to dig in and trying to help, obviously, as much as possible,” he said.
