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A letter sent from Republican Rep. Jeff Shipley to Rep. Pat Grassley, Speaker of the House:
Dear Speaker Grassley,
The Iowa General Assembly has an immediate responsibility to settle the numerous medical and legal questions surrounding mandatory uptake of the COVID-19 public health countermeasure.
Suffice it to say, the Biden administration has failed to illustrate any compelling interest to justify the elimination of 1st and 4th amendment guaranteed Constitutional Liberty.
In fact, the federal government has irrevocably eroded the public trust, rendering compliance and enforcement with any national public health strategy impossible.
Repeated statements of a dubious nature by senior administration officials, such as CDC director Walensky’s remark, “so there’s actually hope, we don’t have data yet,” (Aug 24) reveals the federal government does not have a clear scientific basis from which to advocate for their policy.
Further, the FDA and CDC’s approval of ‘booster’ doses contrary to the guidance and robust discussion of their respective scientific advisory committees creates substantial doubt in the depth of scientific consensus surrounding consequential decisions made by the federal government.
The federal government’s medical mandates are not supported by the present scientific understanding of the various COVID-19 medical countermeasures granted emergency use authorization under the PREP act.
Absent a compelling interest, any rules, mandates, or guidelines from executive orders, CMS, or any future dictates from OSHA, FAA etc. are therefore null and void and cannot be lawfully enforced in Iowa.
Our nation has suffered too many months of lawlessness as a result of this virus of controversial origin. The people of Iowa must not suffer any longer. Iowans deserve a lawful government and health policy supported by a clear and convincing scientific rationale.
There exists no reason why an employee who works remotely for a Medicaid contract should be denied a religious exemption and face termination.
Similarly, no reason exists why a medical exemption should be denied for a person who has recovered from a covid-19 infection, or who is not otherwise at risk of severe infection, or who faces debilitating anxiety or depression when faced with historically appalling deprivation of human dignity.
Most importantly, policies which discriminate on the basis of a person’s medical history, such as the forced testing of unvaccinated, asymptomatic individuals, ultimately fail to
protect the public health in any tangible or verifiable way.
Innocent Iowans are being harmed in their liberty and their health.
Iowa’s reputation as a world leader in civil rights and Constitutional Liberty is threatened by the science-denying bigotry of Joe Biden’s globalist handlers.
Please convene the Iowa Legislature to immediately deliberate and decide on the following legal questions in service to the health and freedom of all Iowans:
1. Does the present covid-19 emergency justify the elimination of the 1st amendment liberty of “free exercise of religion”?
2. Does the present covid-19 emergency justify the elimination of implied 4th amendment protections of security in personal health records?
3. Do the present covid-19 emergency federal mandates constitute the imposition of beliefs, as prohibited by the 1st amendment?
4. How does the State of Iowa protect personal health through medical exemptions to mandated medical countermeasures?
5. How does the Iowa Civil Rights Act apply when a medical countermeasure conflicts with a protected class? In what ways does the medical countermeasure distinguish a person as to justify the exclusion, discrimination, or deprivation of life, liberty of those who cannot take it?
6. How can the medical countermeasure’s safety and efficacy be assured when the PREP act fails to provide uniform and consistent reporting of adverse events?
7. Who is held liable for any personal injury or damages that is anticipated to arise from an entity’s enforcement of blatantly illegal federal mandates?
The questions posed by the global public health crisis will define the character and destiny of our nation for generations to come. God-willing, may we answer with the prizing and maintenance of the liberties and rights of Iowans.
Sincerely Yours – In Service to the People of Iowa
Jeff Shipley
State Representative
Iowa House District 82
