What Are We Doing About Medical Freedom?
An Update on Our Cases
Hello, SMF family! What a whirlwind these last few weeks have been! With our hearing for SHB 1240 coming up this Friday, May 12th we have been focused on strategizing and preparing for that. Stay tuned for an update from Pete and Austin after the hearing!
Another biggie in our battle is for medical freedom. With the COVID hysteria we saw the last few years, we have had the opportunity to advocate and litigate for small businesses, individuals and physicians dealing with unconstitutional mandates. Here are updates on our medical freedom cases:
Donovan v. Vance (9th Circuit Court of Appeals)
SMF is representing 314 United States Department of Energy workers and contractors challenging President Biden’s COVID-19 Executive Orders mandating the COVID-19 shot to maintain employment. Filed in November 2021, this matter remains live as it has been appealed to the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Presently, we’re arguing that the case is not moot (resolved) as Plaintiffs have suffered harm from the discrimination of their religious beliefs.
The briefing challenging the claim that the issue has been resolved was filed in this week and our plaintiffs await a decision from the Ninth Circuit on that matter.
Zimmerman v. PeaceHealth (Western District. WA, No.: 3:22-cv-05960)
Silent Majority Foundation filed a lawsuit against PeaceHealth on behalf of PeaceHealth employees who were placed on indefinite administrative leave without pay for failure to receive the COVID-19 shot. These employees sought religious exemptions and received them, but PeaceHealth refused to accommodate them. We are seeking injunctive relief (to end the indefinite leave without pay and regain employment) and damages. Over time, these employees have received a request to return to work, so the injunction is no longer necessary, but we continue to fight for the damages each Plaintiff has sustained by lack of employment over the past 18+ months.
Wilkinson v. Rodgers (Eastern Dist. WA, No.: 1:23-cv-03035-TOR)
SMF brought this suit on behalf of three doctors licensed in Washington State: Dr. Rick Wilkinson (Yakima), Dr. Richard Eggleston (Clarkston), and Dr. Ryan Cole (Boise, ID) who are being prosecuted by the Washington Medical Commission (WMC) for COVID-19 misinformation/disinformation and for prescribing Ivermectin under the WMC’s COVID-19 Position Statement. SMF challenged the WMC’s punitive actions to STOP these actions, requesting a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO). Judge Rice’s decision to deny the TRO was based on his belief that the WMC’s Position Statement is not enforceable as it says that it “may” be enforced. Judge Rice also stated that he could not decide on the merits of the case as each Dr.’s license is currently in the middle of an investigation from the WMC, so the federal court is required to abstain from deciding the merits UNTIL the WMC’s process is completed. Stay tuned as we take further action.
Washington Medical Commission v. Wilkinson
Dr. Wilkinson, who’s practiced medicine in Yakima for nearly 45 years, was under investigation by the Washington Medical Commission for treating patients with a protocol that includes ivermectin, vitamins, and several other drugs, not including Remdesivir or other “FDA approved” drugs. The WMC also challenged Dr. Wilkinson’s blog, which indicated that Ivermectin can be valuable for prophylactic treatment of COVID-19 and provided concerns with the experimental status of the COVID-19 shot. In April 2023, we had a weeklong hearing to protect Dr. Wilkinson’s license, and we’re awaiting the result of the license hearing, which we should receive in May 2023.
We will continue to provide updates on our cases as we move forward. Silent Majority Foundation is dedicated to taking action on behalf of Americans across the nation.
Help support our medical freedom efforts by donating here: https://secure.silentmajorityfoundation.org/forms/medical-freedom