Takeaways from AP’s investigation on anti-science legislation in US statehouses
By MICHELLE R. SMITH and LAURA UNGAR
AP found more than 70 bills that would roll back access to fluoride or make it easier to sell or consume raw milk products. Many fluoride bills would prohibit its addition to water systems outright.
Most of the bills that were enacted were supported by at least one of four national groups connected to Kennedy: MAHA Action, Stand for Health Freedom, the National Vaccine Information Center and the Weston A. Price Foundation. The groups also opposed dozens of science-driven bills.
These groups are part of a well-organized effort with a clear strategy to change policies
The groups AP tracked send out alerts, organize phone campaigns, flood lawmakers’ inboxes and social media, hold Zoom calls with activists nationwide, and send members to testify in statehouses.
Their work reflects the small anti-vaccine movement’s growing clout, said Northe Saunders, president of American Families for Vaccines. Advocates know how to raise money for candidates and create anti-vaccine champions and use legislative maneuvers to hold up some bills and help others past hurdles, he said.
“They’re really a sophisticated political operation as opposed to just a couple of parents that don’t want to vaccinate their kids,” Saunders said.