UPDATE [3:30PM, 9/17/25): Newsom has signed AB144 into law.
We made our voices loud today, but this medical freedom wrecking ball was unstoppable.
We are devastated, but we will not stop fighting.
People keep asking what we can do about this.
We already did something amazing! We are way ahead of this new law with our due process case, which aims to end mandates entirely. Dr. Fox's foresight will protect us all, if we can get the win in federal court.
Our due process lawsuit right now awaits a decision in a federal district court, and we will take it to the Supreme Court if needed.
We cannot let stand the latest attack on medical freedom and on our children's health. Our attorneys will be looking for legal angles to directly attack this heinous new vaccine law with another lawsuit. Please support our work to make this happen.
Please keep calling Newsom's office (916) 445-2841) to express your concerns.
And please keep sharing our petition to Newsom to MAKE VACCINATION VOLUNTARY AGAIN. Every time someone signs, eight public officials are notified about what they can do to pressure Newsom to do the right thing.
This Fall, our Board Chair & President Alix Mayer, will lead a group to hand-deliver all the petitions to Newsom's office in Sacramento. We will let you know which day to join us!!
Free Now Foundation, PERK and many other medical freedom organizations and individuals are joining forces! Together, we will get a letter to Newsom about the effects of AB144.
Following is what we wrote you this morning, so you can be educated about this new law.
Please note a couple corrections.
First, there were two bills, SB144 and AB144. It is AB144 that made it to Newsom's desk.
Second, the Gardasil vaccine will be strongly recommended to rising 8th graders, but this new law does not appear to make it a requirement.
Original Email Describing Newsom Petition & New Law
We just updated our petition to demand that Newsom veto AB144.
AB144 eviscerates vaccine rights in California. It is a budget bill with extensive language to limit vaccination rights in California.
A California-only Standard of Vaccination
AB144 allows California to diverge from federal guidelines, creating a framework for a California-only standard of vaccination, which will no longer be based on CDC recommendations.
In other words, the bill totally cuts out future recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP). This is the committee that advises the CDC on which vaccines should go on the Recommended Vaccination Schedule. Secretary Kennedy has replaced all the members of ACIP who had conflicts of interest.
ACIP meets Thursday and Friday to re-consider guidance on MMR-V, Hepatitis B, and COVID shots.
Department of Public Health Would Set All Vaccine Guidelines
The California Department of Public Health (CDPH) would hold all the power to create and modify vaccine schedules. CDPH would continue to be the arbiter of medical exemptions, but those would be based only on AAP guidance.
Freight Train Gut & Amend Process Signals Political Agenda
Introduced by gutting and amending an unrelated bill on September 9th, AB144 passed both the California Assembly and Senate on September 12th, landing immediately on Newsom's desk for him to sign it into law as early as today.
This bill bypassed the normal committee processes, including suspension of Rule 63.
We have seen this freight train legislative process before, and the worst bills are rammed through the legislature this way.
We believe this bill is part of the Tri-State Commission to "Trump-proof" California.
CDPH Replaces ACIP
If this bill becomes law, it would enact sweeping changes to the de facto California vaccine mandate for schoolchildren.
It would freeze all current CDC vaccine recommendations as of January 1, 2025, even if ACIP changes the Recommended Children's Vaccine Schedule based on a re-evaluation of scientific evidence. This would create a California vaccination standard created and enforced by the CDPH. CDPH can modify, update or add to the January 1, 2025 CDC schedule.
Adds Gardasil Requirement
AB144 would add Gardasil vaccine -- said to prevent cervical cancer by targeting the HPV virus -- making it mandatory for 8th graders, and even for all California college students (UCs and Community Colleges) under the age of 26.
Medicare Patient Hospital Vaccines
It would mandate that all hospitalized Medicare patients older than 65 be advised to follow CDPH vaccine guidance, including offering flu and pneumococcal shots to all upon discharge.
Liability Protections Expanded
Liability protections would expand from not just covering the provider, but also to anyone who procures, disburses, or supplies vaccines.
Free Now Lawsuit to End Mandates More Important than Ever
We didn't think vaccination law could get any worse in California. AB144 is our worst nightmare.
Our due process lawsuit is awaiting a decision from the judge in a federal district court. If needed, we will take this case all the way to the Supreme Court. Our lawsuit is the only one designed to end mandates for all school children. Thank you for your support thus far! It's more important that ever to support this lawsuit.
Call Newsom's Office TODAY and Sign & Share the Petition
Call Newsom's Office TODAY, tell him he must veto AB144 today, and sign and share the petition!
- Newsom's Office
- (916) 445-2841
Amy Bohn, President of PERK, and winner of the 2025 Free Now Foundation Medical Freedom Activist Award, contributed to this article. |
