Ledezma

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA

MARIA LEDEZMA, Case No. 23-cv-06691-VC

Plaintiff,

ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR

v. SUMMARY JUDGMENT

OPTUM SERVICES, INC., Re: Dkt. No. 40 Defendant.

Optum’s motion for summary judgment is granted. A practicing Catholic, Ledezma believes that her “body is a temple of the Holy Spirit and [she] has to take care of it.” Dkt. No. 40-3, Exh. A to Sallomi Decl., Depo. of Maria Ledezma 106:22–25. The source of this belief is her reading of the Bible, and the way she interprets the Bible is that she, “the person, can make th[e] decision” about what would harm her body. Id. at 112:15–25. In her words, “it’s just having the self-autonomy and deciding on what’s best.” Id. at 112:21–25. She practices this belief by taking care of her body “in a [ ] holistic way” and “lessen[ing] the harm” to her body, including by avoiding “allopathic treatments or medications.” Id. at 107:4–16. As to the COVID-19 vaccine, Ledezma believes that, because the vaccine is harmful and a foreign substance, taking the vaccine would be against those beliefs. Id. at 111:7–23. This evidence is…