Texans for Vaccine Choice (TFVC)
Formation2015; 9 years ago (2015)[1]
FoundersRebecca Hardy, Jackie Schlegel & Michelle Evans[1]
TypeNon-Profit[2]
FocusMedical Liberty
Region
Texas
President
Rebecca Hardy
Websitewww.texansforvaccinechoice.com

Texans for Vaccine Choice (TFVC) formed in February 2015 in response to HB 2006, a bill filed during the 84th Texas legislature which aimed to remove religious exemptions from vaccinations for students. A band of parents and legislators worked together diligently to fight off this and 16 other bills that were proposed that session that attempted to mandate vaccines, limit liberties due to personal medical choices, override parental/guardian consent, and increase tracking.

With the help and guidance of liberty-loving elected officials, Texans for Vaccine Choice is now a widely recognized organization across Texas. We are dedicated to protecting medical freedom and vaccine choice by ensuring the issue remains at the forefront of political discourse, promoting incumbents and candidates who strongly support our values, and drafting legislation to further solidify these rights. Our 501(c)(4) non-profit organization is focused on advocacy. Be it fighting against patient discrimination, holding public and private entities accountable for accurately representing vaccine laws and exemption rights, or active involvement in the legislative process, Texans for Vaccine Choice is on the scene ensuring Texans are safe from medical overreach.

Going forward, we hope to continue to represent our supporters, and all others who share our ideals, with dignity, empower people to become politically involved, educate the public, and ensure that vaccine choice remains a right that is free of consequence or interference from government or bureaucracy.

Background

Texans for Vaccine Choice was founded in 2015 by a group of mothers, led by Jackie Schlegel, who opposed legislation proposed by state representative Jason Villalba (R-Dallas) which would have eliminated conscientious exemptions to vaccination requirements in the state of Texas.[2][3] Referring to this bill, TFVC executive director Jackie Schlegel said, "This is Texas. We believe in parental rights in Texas. Like, that is just a fundamental belief that most Texans have that parents make decisions for their children, not the state."[4][5] The bill was never voted on.[2] When he ran for re-election, Villalba faced opposition from TFVC as well as a primary challenger who ran a campaign largely based on the vaccine exemption issue.[5] Villalba won, but stated that he believed opposition from TFVC reduced his margin of victory, and said, "I'm not interested in a suicide mission on this issue, I sense — and this is unfortunate — the only way a bill like this gets any traction is an even worse large-scale outbreak, between now and session. Short of that, I just don't think there is going to be the appetite to do this bill."[5]

Texans for Vaccine Choice also helps parents apply for vaccine exemptions for their children,[6] placing them at the epicenter of Travis County's rapidly growing anti-vaccination movement.[7] TFVC is promoted alongside Andrew Wakefield in the anti-vaccination propaganda film Vaxxed.[7][8]

Political actions

Terri Andrews of the Immunization Collaboration of Tarrant County, a Texas Medical Association member initiative, describes TFVC as the "main anti-vaccination group in Texas".[9] Vaccine researcher Peter Hotez notes that moderate candidates in Texas are "being cherry-picked out by candidates running on anti-vaccine platforms".[10] One example is the 2018 Texas statehouse election for district 114, where TFVC endorsed Lisa Luby Ryan, unseating the incumbent Republican in the primary.[11] Ryan was beaten in the general election by Democrat John Turner.

Science communicator David Gorski has criticized TFVC for publishing blog posts misrepresenting herd immunity, and accusing them of exaggerating the risks of vaccines and downplaying the benefits. Gorski has also criticized Jackie Schlegel for describing her autistic daughter as "vaccine injured",[4] since there is compelling evidence that vaccines do not cause autism.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b Novack, Sophie (August 8, 2017). "Fringe Factor, How 'Mad Moms in Minivans' Injected Themselves into Texas' Anti-Vaccine Debate". Texas Observer. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Kupferschmidt, Kai (December 1, 2016). "Why Texas is becoming a major antivaccine battlefield". Science. doi:10.1126/science.aal0439. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  3. ^ Sun, Lena H. (February 20, 2017). "Trump energizes the anti-vaccine movement in Texas". The Washington Post. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  4. ^ a b "Texas: Ground zero for the politicization of school vaccine mandates". sciencebasedmedicine.org. March 5, 2018. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  5. ^ a b c Smith, Morgan (April 2, 2016). "PAC Mobilizes to Defend Vaccine Exemptions in Texas". The Texas Tribune. Retrieved January 12, 2018.
  6. ^ "Why Texas is becoming a major antivaccine battlefield". Science | AAAS. November 30, 2016. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  7. ^ a b Hotez, Peter J. (October 25, 2016). "Texas and Its Measles Epidemics". PLOS Medicine. 13 (10): e1002153. doi:10.1371/journal.pmed.1002153. ISSN 1549-1277. PMC 5079653. PMID 27780206.
  8. ^ Graham, Ruth (November 16, 2016). "Private School Parents Are Keeping Austin Weird—and Unsafe—by Not Vaccinating Their Kids". Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  9. ^ "Immunization Collaboration of Tarrant County Countering Anti-Vaxxers With Shots and Information". Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  10. ^ Glenza, Jessica (February 26, 2018). "Disgraced anti-vaxxer Andrew Wakefield aims to advance his agenda in Texas election". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
  11. ^ "Democrat hopes to flip Dallas district in Texas House race against staunch GOP Trump backer". Dallas News. October 22, 2018.
  12. ^ "Vaccines do not cause autism, says Dad who should know [Opinion] - HoustonChronicle.com". December 22, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2019.
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