Image Credit: TN General Assembly
The Tennessee Conservative [By Paula Gomes] –
A parental medical freedom bill has been sent to summer study after a unanimous vote of eight Republicans and two Democrats in the House Population Health Subcommittee, essentially killing it for this legislative session.
House Bill 1156 (HB1156) sponsored by Representative Susan Lynn (R-Mount Juliet-District 57), and by Senator Janice Bowling (R-Tullahoma-District 16) in the Senate, takes a stance for parental medical freedom by removing Tennessee’s requirement that parents vaccinate their children according to the recommended schedule of the CDC or American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), eliminating part (a) of Tennessee Code Annotated, Section 37-10-401.
Both the CDC, a federal agency, and the AAP, a private organization, operate outside of the state’s jurisdiction. HB1156 would ensure that state lawmakers do not delegate their authority to federal entities or mandate that parents comply with federal recommendations that are at odds with health decisions that they make for their children.
According to language in the bill, under the nondelegation doctrine, the General Assembly cannot delegate significant public policy decisions to organizations that are not subject to state accountability or oversight. During the subcommittee meeting, Lynn said this makes current state code unconstitutional.
Lynn spoke about current law, and the concern that parents could be said to be in violation of Tennessee law when choosing not to follow vaccination schedules.
Legislative attorney Heather Asbell verified that parents cannot be held civilly liable or criminally prosecuted for not vaccinating under the law as it now stands.
While enshrining the rights of parents to make medical decisions for their families, HB1156 keeps in place existing immunization laws for schools, preschools, or childcare facilities. Medical and religious exemptions also remain in place.
While the bill is dead for this session, Lynn has another bill that is related to vaccination that will be heard in the House Health Committee on March 11th, 2025.
House Bill 1157 (HB1157) also called the “Restore Trust in Public Health Messaging Act” would require that all communications from public health agencies about FDA-approved products, including vaccines, “must be grounded in verified data and scientific research, free from unproven claims or promotional language that could mislead consumers.”
As a result of a 2024 Congressional Report which assessed the communication failures of the public health campaign of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) during the pandemic, it has been recommended that HHS abide by FDA product labeling guidelines while being prohibited from promoting information regarding FDA-regulated products that do not reflect the FDA-approved label.
Lynn has said that trust in public health messaging plummeted during the COVID-19 pandemic due to conflicting information.
HB1157 aims to ensure that government agencies in Tennessee deliver accurate and reliable information.
About the Author: Paula Gomes is a Tennessee resident and reporter for The Tennessee Conservative. You can reach Paula at paula@tennesseeconservativenews.com.
One Response
I see no need for this bill. Anyone listening to HHS and/or FDA is stupid. They serve lucifer’s pharma.