by Catherine Smith
At least 117 nurses are suing their employer, Houston Methodist Hospital, in Texas’ largest city, over its COVID-19 vaccination mandate for workers, claiming they are being forced to be “human guinea pigs,” Fox News reported.
Jennifer Bridges, one of the nurses included in the suit, told “Fox News Primetime” on Wednesday that they are fighting for basic rights of workers. Her attorney Jared Woodfill V said they would otherwise be unemployed and could “face bankruptcy court” if unable to earn a living.
“This is very important. We’re basically fighting for everybody’s rights right now just to make our own decisions. Nobody should be forced to put something in their body if they are not comfortable with it — and lose their jobs over it,” said Bridges.
The complaint, filed in state court, claims the mandate “requires the employee to subject themselves to medical experimentation as a prerequisite to feeding their families” and “that where a medical product is ‘unapproved’ then no one may be mandated to take it.”
Bridges said before the COVID vaccines became available people were able to use “informed consent” and make their own medical decisions, without the pressure of the private sector.
“Nobody is telling these people the exact risks that are involved and there is no long-term data right now,” she said.
“Basically just being in the hospital I have seen so many adverse reactions through patients and employees who have been fully vaccinated and it is too risky, way too risky and everyone needs to know the risks before they injected into their body so they can make a good, informed decisions.”
The suit claims, “for the first time in the history of the United States, an employer is forcing an employee to participate in an experimental vaccine trial as a condition for continued employment.”
“They are saying you are going to have to have an experimental drug injected into your body, a drug that we don’t know what the long-term side effects will be or what it will look like and that is a condition of employment,” Woodfill said.
“Essentially, they are saying to these employees, people like Jennifer who are on the front line every day, if you don’t serve as a human Guinea pig we are not going to be able to pay you.”
Among the plaintiffs are nurses, receptionists, technicians, and administrators, according to a Washington Post report. They include a Baytown Hospital nurse who has spoken out against the policy and refused to follow it, and Bob Nevens, the system’s former corporate risk and insurance director, who recently told MedPage Today he was fired for declining to get vaccinated.
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Catherine Smith reports for American Greatness.
Photo “Houston Methodist Hospital” by Anphalen CC 4.0.
