Dear PERK Members,
This is a massive and critical call to action for health freedom, for parents, for doctors, and for this entire movement.
On Thursday, November 12th, the California Senate Health Committee will hold an informational hearing in San Diego titled "Medical Exemptions for Immunization Requirements: What Do the Data Say?" I need to be honest with you. This hearing has been stacked against us.
The agenda is one-sided. It does not represent our voice. It does not represent parents. It does not represent physicians. It does not represent this movement.
That is why we need YOU to show up.
If you are a doctor, a physician, a parent, or an organization, please answer this call. We need you there in person to give public comment.
What's at Stake
This hearing could be used for as long as five years to kill this issue in California.
Every future effort we make will hinge on what happens in that room. Legislators, staff, and the state will point back to this hearing for years to come. If our side is not on the record, they will say our side does not exist.
We must have YOUR voices on the public record so we can reference them later. We need our doctors, our parents, our organizations, and our leaders on the public record on this issue.
I cannot begin to emphasize how critical and urgent this is. We need you, health freedom movement. Get off work. Change your schedules. Come to San Diego and show your support and the truth.
We knew this might happen, that our voice and our side could be intentionally left out. We are prepared. The way we challenge this is by having you show up and speak the truth. We have this moment. Let's use it.
And remember: whatever happens in California, so goes the nation.
The Agenda: Who They Invited, and Who They Left Out
Here is our short assessment of the panel the committee chose.
None of the seven speakers represents the side that requested this hearing. There is no family. There is no physician who writes exemptions. There is no school or privacy voice.
Five of the seven list membership in the American Academy of Pediatrics. AAP California, which Dr. Eric Ball chairs, co-sponsored SB 276 in 2019 and opposed SB 1377 in April. Dr. Ball and Dr. Mark Sawyer have both held leadership roles in the California Immunization Coalition, which also opposed SB 1377.
Dr. Erica Pan is the CDPH Director. Her department runs the exemption reviews, so expect updated versions of the numbers the Chair read in April. That gives us something concrete to answer with real families' experiences.
None of them opposes medical exemptions outright. The AAP's own policy supports rare exemptions "as determined for each individual child." What they defend is the current review system. Our side is still missing. The AAP officially recommends removing religious and personal belief exemptions nationwide.
Where is OUR side?
This hearing was meant to hear from physicians, families, and other stakeholders. The agenda has no families. At minimum, there should have been a seat for a family and a seat for a physician who writes exemptions.
Here is what the panel will not tell the committee, and what only YOU can:
The doctor who would not write it
Revoked after state review
Revoked over a paperwork error
The appeal
The 30-day clock to start shots
The doctor who was cut off from writing exemptions
Outside the narrow criteria
Several children, one doctor
Privacy: a demand for the diagnosis
No doctor at all after a dismissal
Grandfathered exemptions and the sunset issue for multiple kids
Severe diagnosis and the difficulty finding a doctor to write exemptions and doctors who refused to write them for you.
Children removed from school during the school year
Doctors on the medical board disciplinary list without any connection to medical exemptions and still can’t write them- disqualified.
Doctor’s entire practices audited with exemption audit, though unrelated.
If one of these is your story, the committee needs to hear it from you.
How to Give Your Public Comment
Prepare two versions of your comment: one that runs 30 seconds, 1 minute, and one that runs up to 2 minutes.
Be bold on the issue. Do not call names, yell, or blame. Speak facts and truth about a system that does not work for families, doctors, and Californians:
Parents: Tell them why you can't get an exemption, and why your child can't access school.
Doctors: Tell them why you won't write exemptions anymore.
Organizations and leaders: Tell them who you represent and what your families are facing.
Your words become part of the public record. Make every one count. We need your story and voice on the record.
Hearing Details
California Senate Health Committee Informational Hearing "Medical Exemptions for Immunization Requirements: What Do the Data Say?"
When: Thursday, November 12th, at 10am. Be early.
Where: County Administration Center, 1600 Pacific Highway, Room 327, San Diego, CA 92101
Who: All advocates, parents, and physicians. Join us and give public comment at the hearing.
Then Join Us: Stand Together for Medical Freedom Rally
After you speak, stay with us. PERK and Health Freedom Rising will host a rally following the Senate Health Committee's hearing, right there in San Diego.
We are joined by our supporting partner organizations: Free Now Foundation, America's Healthy Kids, American Frontline Workers For Freedom, Manage Her Podcast, Restore San Diego, Firefighters for Freedom, Warriors In Need, Physicians & Patients Reclaiming Medicine, and more.
Speakers: Dr. Joel Gator Warsh, Amy Bohn, Amy Reichert, Aimee Rickabus, Dr. Stanton Homm, surprise guest speakers…
Final rally location, speakers, and start time will be confirmed. It will be close to the hearing location on the grass. Details are subject to change, so watch your inbox and perk-group.com/news for updates.
We Need You Now More Than Ever
They left our side off the agenda. Let's fill that room with the truth. We need your support now more than ever. Whatever happens in California, so goes the nation. Donate to support. Share this message. Show up!
Stay in this fight with us!
Amy Bohn President of PERK
Please follow us on Instagram and X @perk_group for the latest updates, and visit perk-group.com/news.
The CA Senate Health Committee's Nov. 12 hearing on medical exemptions leaves out families and exemption-writing doctors. It’s one sided. We need you to show up and go on the record. Join PERK in San Diego to give public comment.