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State lawmakers in Iowa and New Hampshire this week advanced bills that, if passed, will scale back vaccine mandates and expand medical choice.
Supporters in both states said the measures restore informed consent and rebuild trust after the COVID-19 era. Critics warned the proposals could weaken long-standing public health protections.
Mandates coercive and inconsistent with informed consent, Iowa lawmaker says
On Thursday, Iowa lawmakers advanced House File 2368, the Iowa Medical Freedom Act.
The proposal would prohibit businesses, schools and government entities from requiring “medical intervention” — including vaccines and masks — as a condition of employment, services or access to facilities.
State Rep. Samantha Fett, the bill’s sponsor, said Iowans “consistently prioritize the freedom to make their own medical decisions.” She argued that “no government has the authority to force a medical intervention on anyone.”
Fett called the mandates coercive and inconsistent with informed consent.
“Employers, schools and agencies are not doctors, and they cannot make personal health decisions for every Iowan,” she said. “This bill protects conscience rights, religious liberty, bodily autonomy and privacy. At its core, this bill protects everyone.”
Supporters said the measure protects bodily autonomy, religious liberty and privacy, while preserving access to vaccines and other treatments.
Lindsay Maher of Informed Choice Iowa said lawmakers are responding to ongoing concerns about how public health agencies handled COVID-19 and the government’s response to it.
Maher emphasized that the proposal “does not take away access to vaccines, but reinforces informed consent.” Conversations with doctors allow “people to have a choice,” she said.
Opponents, including the Iowa Public Health Association and the Iowa State Education Association, said the bill could lead to more outbreaks and school disruptions, The Gazette reported.
Lina Tucker Reinders, executive director of the Iowa Public Health Association, told Iowa Public Radio that outbreaks can mean “lost hours, lost wages” and even business closures.
Lawmakers passed the bill out of a House Health and Human Services subcommittee and sent it to the full committee for consideration.
Iowa, New Hampshire move to end school vaccine requirements
Iowa lawmakers last week advanced House File 2171, which would eliminate the state’s long-standing immunization requirements for K-12 school attendance.
The House Education Committee approved the bill. The bill now goes to the House for a vote. If enacted, Iowa would no longer require students to show proof of vaccination to attend elementary or secondary school.
Public health groups oppose the measure, warning it could reverse decades of disease prevention efforts. Supporters say parents — not the state — should decide what medical care their children receive.
In New Hampshire, lawmakers in the House will weigh parallel legislation next week.
House Bill 1811 would end all immunization requirements for children attending public schools, daycares and other facilities. If enacted, all childhood vaccinations would become voluntary in those settings.
New Hampshire moves to eliminate Hep B vaccine
The New Hampshire House on Thursday voted to remove the hepatitis B (Hep B) vaccine from the state’s list of required immunizations.
Rep. Kelley Potenza, who sponsored House Bill 1719, said the bill aligns state policy with updated federal recommendations, InDepthNH reported. She noted that pregnant women are screened for hepatitis B, which she said reduces the risk to infants.
The vaccine “is not a medical necessity, it is a policy preference,” Potenza said. “This will restore informed consent and patient choice.”
Matt Drew, a co-sponsor, said the bill would make the Hep B shot “a real choice … not a government mandate with the force of the state behind it.”
“I take exception to having to beg the government for permission to exercise my rights,” he said.
Democrats and public health advocates pushed back. Rep. William Palmer cautioned the bill “will further erode New Hampshire’s already declining vaccination rate” and urged lawmakers to rely on “true public health experts.”
The bill goes to the House Finance Committee before it heads to the Senate.
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‘Great steps toward restoring informed consent’
New Hampshire lawmakers also approved House Bill 1584, which would allow parents to claim a religious exemption from school vaccine requirements by submitting any written and signed statement, instead of completing a specific state-issued form.
The New Hampshire Bulletin reported that the bill would also require New Hampshire’s Department of Health and Human Services to include notice in “bold, clearly noticeable, starred print” that “medical and religious exemptions are available under New Hampshire law” whenever it promotes vaccines.
Supporters said the change ensures families understand their rights and simplifies the exemption process. Opponents argued it could create record-keeping challenges for schools and contribute to falling immunization rates.
Medical freedom activist and former state Rep. Melissa Blasek praised the measures.
“All of these are great steps toward restoring informed consent in New Hampshire. You can’t have informed consent if people aren’t given the ability to say no,” she said.
As with House Bill 1719, this bill carries a fiscal note and is slated to go to the House Finance Committee before advancing to the Senate.
However, “I believe the chairman of the finance committee waived them off, and the bills will proceed to the Senate,” Blasek said.
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- 8 States Weigh Bills to Establish or Expand Exemptions to School Vaccine Mandates
- Hawaii Lawmakers Float Bill to Eliminate Religious Exemptions
- Florida Bill Would Require Medical Examiners to Include Recent Vaccination History When Investigating Sudden Deaths of Infants, Children
