He had a sticker that was too “political” (It said VOTE YES on HB60, which he took off) and a shirt that said “we the people” and Utah Highway troopers Escorted him out and arrested him.
Utah lawmakers spent Friday casting votes on a number of bills
Utah – “I take care of a lot of kids with birth defects, cleft lips, cleft palates, extra fingers, extra toes,” Dr. Devan Griner from Lehi is a pediatric craniofacial plastic surgeon. During his six years working in Utah and around the world, he estimates he’s helped hundreds of patients.
“These are kind of like my own children. I take care of kids from the time they are born, sometimes before they’re born, all the way until they’re 25 years old and go off. I watch them grow up, they are part of my family,” Griner said.
The current CMS covid-19 vaccine mandate has Griner scared he may not be able to continue that work because he has not received any doses of the shot. So, he’s filed a lawsuit in federal court to overturn that mandate.
“I’ve watched over the last year, year and a half as things have progressed, where they’re going, I really want to put a stop now so I’m never in the position where I have to tell my patients and their families they need to go somewhere else or find somebody else,” Griner said.
There are some pretty big names listed as defendants.
“The President of the United States, CDC, workers in the CDC, CMS, so yeah some big names. People who actually made these mandates happen and stick.”
The lawsuit claims the vaccine mandate is unconstitutional and violates Dr. Griner’s 5th and 14th Amendments rights.
He says he’s not comfortable with getting the shot and shouldn’t be forced to get it.
“I want people who feel good about it to go get it. I want people who don’t feel good about it to wait.”
Morally I can’t go against what I’m feeling. If that means the hospitals take away my privileges, then that’s what’s going to happen. It breaks my heart which is why I want to get on the forefront of this and stop that from ultimately happening,” Griner said.
Ultimately, Dr. Griner said his decision to file this lawsuit comes down to the people he’s helped for years.
“Now all of a sudden I’m at risk of not being able to fulfill my dream in life and continue taking care of kids I started taking care of six years ago.”