New Mexico Governor Hit With a Class Action Lawsuit by Parents of Unvaccinated Children

Parents of children who raised animals for the New Mexico State Fair but are now unable to participate owing to a vaccine mandate have filed a class action lawsuit against Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico.

Talisha Valdez et al v. Lujan Grisham et al

On August 19, Gov. Michelle Grisham was served with a class action lawsuit for issuing a public health order demanding that healthcare workers, education workers, and anybody else attending the anticipated New Mexico State Fair get vaccinated unless they qualify for an exemption.

Registered nurse Jennifer Blackford and local parent Talisha Valdez launched a class action complaint against the state, claiming that the order infringed their freedom to refuse a vaccination that had not been completely cleared or approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

The vaccine, which was developed by the pharmaceutical company Pfizer, has now been approved by the FDA.

Despite this, parents whose children are participants of the 4H livestock program and were scheduled to compete in the fair have recently joined the class suit, claiming it is unjust that their children would be unable to participate on September 9.

4H is one of the largest out-of-school youth programs in the U.S., with courses offered in a variety of disciplines such as livestock and animal sciences, camping, and shooting, among others.

New Mexico State Fair Vaccine Mandate Faces Disagreements

According to the original case, Plaintiff Valdez — a person who wanted to show livestock in an event at the state fair but did not want to receive the COVID-19 vaccine — should have been permitted to participate in the event without being required to get the vaccine.

In addition, Valdez stated that she had the right to refuse to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and that she had the right as a parent to decline to have her child administered with an experimental vaccine.

Her daughters are unable to attend the fair since they are not vaccinated, and the health order prohibits them from doing so. Even if they decided to get vaccinated, she added that they would have run out of time to receive both doses.

Valdez and her daughters have spent approximately 150 hours working with the animals in preparation for the 4H competition, and they have spent a total of over $9,000. According to reports, more than 35 additional families are in a similar situation.

The governor and the health department, on the other hand, have responded by claiming that the Food and Drug Administration has completely approved the Pfizer vaccine and that the complaint, therefore, does not apply.

As of Wednesday, the COVID-19 vaccination mandate for the State Fair remained in effect.

A class action lawsuit against vaccine mandates is not the only one currently being pursued in the United States. According to a class action lawsuit filed last month, Michigan State University (MSU) employees who have previously contracted COVID-19 and have developed antibodies should not be required to receive the vaccination in order to return to work.

That lawsuit was brought by a university employee who claimed that the university’s vaccine mandate violated the constitutional rights to bodily autonomy and refusal of medical treatment.

Editor’s Note on New Mexico State Fair Class Action Lawsuit Against Governor Lujan Grisham 2021: 

This article is written to inform you of the class action lawsuit filed against Michelle Lujan Grisham after mandating an order to have anyone attending the New Mexico State Fair be vaccinated. Similarly, a class action was also filed against Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds after she ended the Unemployment Benefits.

Case Name & No.: Talisha Valdez et al. v. Lujan Grisham et al., No. 1:2021cv00783

Jurisdiction: U.S. District Court for the District of New Mexico

Products/Services: New Mexico State Fair & Covid-19 Vaccine

Allegations: Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New Mexico mandated a Covid-19 vaccination for anyone attending the New Mexico State Fair, an alleged violation of its residents’ rights to refuse vaccination

Status: Pending

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(PC – mwwile)