Here’s what happened in New York: In October 2022, CHD sponsored a lawsuit challenging New York’s statewide COVID vaccine mandate for healthcare workers, which threw 34,000 out of work and crippled the healthcare system.
In January, we won that lawsuit when a judge declared the mandate for healthcare workers “null, void, and of no effect” and “arbitrary and capricious.”
The state requested and received a stay of the lower court’s decision pending appellate review.
On Wednesday this week, CHD's attorneys were minutes into arguing the case before a New York appeals court when an attorney for the state announced the state’s plan to repeal the mandate — astonishingly claiming that the lawsuit is “moot.”
But the story didn’t end there — the state then requested that the appeals court vacate the January 2023 decision striking down the mandate.
In other words, faced with near-certain defeat, New York State tried to erase our stunning trial court victory.
As the joint statement from CHD and Sujata Gibson, the attorney representing the plaintiffs, noted:
“In what can only be described as pure gamesmanship, New York State asked the court to withdraw their appeal but overturn the lower court’s decision, without looking at the merits, on the grounds that it was now moot.”
Gibson also told CHD TV:
“The law does not allow an agency to voluntarily stop an illegal activity and then claim they shouldn’t be held legally accountable.”
Kim Mack Rosenberg, acting outside counsel for CHD, praised Gibson’s work:
“Representing those healthcare workers, Ms. Gibson clearly and effectively demonstrated to the appellate panel the state’s attempt to avoid accountability.
“The state’s mandate devastated the lives of over 30,000 healthcare workers. Accountability is important both for the mandate at issue here and with respect to future potential actions by the state.”
This week’s victory and the cynical gamesmanship that followed demonstrate more clearly than ever why CHD must continue their legal efforts.
Our adversaries are callous and shameless. Our regulators are bought.
But Children’s Health Defense will pursue every avenue to protect our right to make personal health choices . . . including going to battle against any state that tries to force mandates on anyone.
CHD will continue to fight in the courts and elsewhere. But they need your help.
Please donate today and help CHD win cases like this one in states nationwide.
