#87: Are Vaccine Mandates a Violation of Our Human Rights? — with Barbara Loe Fisher
On this week’s episode of The Ultimate Assist, John Stockton and Ken Ruettgers sit down with Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder and president of the National Vaccine Information Center, for a provocative conversation about vaccines, informed consent, medical freedom, censorship, and who should ultimately have authority over the medical decisions we make for ourselves and our children. Barbara has spent more than four decades challenging America’s approach to vaccine policy after her son experienced what she describes as a severe reaction to a DPT vaccination in 1982. That experience launched a lifetime of advocacy centered around one principle: no individual should be forced to accept a medical risk without voluntary and informed consent. And Barbara believes America still hasn’t learned that lesson. She makes the case for eliminating vaccine mandates altogether, arguing that medical, religious and philosophical exemptions still leave government or medical authorities with the ultimate power to determine whether an individual can refuse vaccination. Instead, she wants informed consent and bodily autonomy explicitly protected in public-health law. John, Ken and Barbara dive into some of the most controversial questions surrounding vaccination today, including: Should all vaccine mandates be eliminated? Has vaccination become a one-size-fits-all approach that fails to account for biological differences? Are Americans getting enough information to genuinely give informed consent? What did COVID reveal about government public-health powers? What does the future of mRNA technology mean for medicine? Why was the National Vaccine Information Center removed from major social-media platforms? Should parents be able to reject a vaccine recommendation without being pressured or shamed? Are expanding public-health surveillance powers threatening medical privacy? And has society become so committed to vaccination that questioning it has become almost taboo? Fisher also discusses the censorship her organization experienced during COVID. She says NVIC was removed from Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter, and later lost access to PayPal; she argues that those actions demonstrate how difficult it became to publicly challenge prevailing vaccine policy during the pandemic. One particularly provocative moment comes when the conversation turns to whether society’s faith in vaccines has taken on characteristics of a religion. Barbara goes even further: she describes it as a “cult,” arguing that people have been conditioned to accept certain assumptions about vaccination without adequately questioning them. The conversation ultimately comes back to something much bigger than vaccines: Who owns your body? Barbara argues that medical freedom isn’t about telling people whether they should or shouldn’t vaccinate. It’s about having access to information, understanding potential benefits and risks, knowing your own medical and family history, and being free to make the final decision without coercion. After more than 40 years fighting this battle, Barbara leaves listeners with one simple piece of advice: “Before you take a risk, find out what it is.” 🎙️ Episode #87: Are Vaccine Mandates a Violation of Our Human Rights? — with Barbara Loe Fisher Available on Rumble, Apple Podcasts & Spotify. Support the show
