🎯Digest version🎯
Full details No worries! We are glad you are here to get all the updates. Last night we had a great meeting and covered important steps for moving forward. The death of SB74 was certainly disappointing but it provided us with many important lessons.
This year was the first time a Medical Liberty Bill has made it to committee in Indiana. Unfortunately, we were unable to get it through to the full Senate but we are hopeful we will see continued progress next year. We have learned plenty of lessons thus far and will be better prepared for it! For me, it was quite eye opening to watch the Legislative Session. I never realized the way that these things happened, and it was obvious that secrecy and “back door deals” reign supreme. I had heard of “caucus” but didn’t know exactly what that meant. The political process is supposed to be one of transparency but I have found it to be anything but. Now I know that caucus isn’t just a meeting and time to chat. The Caucus is where the fate of a bill is decided in PRIVATE. When it comes time for the House and Senate to cast their vote, there is rarely diversity of thought shown in the roll call vote held within public session. During session one might be able to observe the difference in Democratic and Republican party lines, but for the most part it seems like our entire Senate and House of Representatives end up voting in unison! Caucus is private and information is not to leave those meetings. All debates, serious discussion, and deals are done within Caucus. How are constituents supposed to know if their elected officials are representing them the way they were promised? We know that we must not allow this to continue. We must break the cycle and be sure that voting is the result of what constituents want, not what happens in Caucus. This Session has taught us the lay of the land. Even without getting a vote we have been able to see who is dedicated to Medical Liberty and who doesn’t seem to be ready to live up to their commitments. We have been so impressed by the way that WE THE PEOPLE have stepped up into their role in politics. We MUST continue this. It is our responsibility to communicate effectively with our legislators before, during and after Legislative season. We must also make sure that we hold elected officials accountable for the choices they make in representing us. However, accountability is difficult when decisions are made in secret and everyone votes the same in public. One way we can learn how to combat this is through using techniques learned through The Foundation for Applied Conservative Leadership. It is my personal goal to have 6-10 classes here in Indiana this year. We have already had one in January where around 30 activists were trained. February will offer another and a third this year in March. Hosting a class is easy and I would love to help you host one in your area! I am specifically looking for Western Indiana, Southern Indiana, and South of Indy! I will keep Indiana classes updated on our website so that you can keep an eye on new developments. I look forward to seeing you at one of the classes! Moving forward this year our mission must focus on educating the public about Religious Exemptions provided by the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Federal Religious Exemptions were used by legislators as an excuse to not push forward SB74. Unfortunately, history has shown that these are not upheld by employers. We shared that information along with EEOC’s refusal to defend the Religious Exemption. We have a Religious Exemption on the site for vaccines and encourage people to use this. We encourage people to report when employers deny this. We have developed a new page to report these instances. We will be able to use aggregate data from these submissions to fight our case again next year. Please make sure you are sharing with your friends. We encourage you to network with your coworkers who do not want the vaccine, work together, and agree to stand together when employers threaten termination. We also want to make sure that EVERYONE in this situation contacts ICAN for help. In order to obtain this potential assistance, please email ICAN at freedom@icandecide.org and provide a copy of the written notice from your school or employer stating that the COVID-19 vaccine is required. To move forward we have developed committees so that everyone who is able to get involved can find their place. We have a new page for this as well. You will be able to see each of the committees and sign up for one here. The growth of our organization is dependent on these committees. I look forward to meeting with you! Finally, we will be having monthly meetings on the second Wednesday of each month at 8:30pm EST, you can register here. This blog was WAY longer than I had anticipated and I commend you if you have made it this far without nodding off to sleep 😉. I hope you have a wonderful week and once again, thank you for all you do. Ashley
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The Digest version:
Full details for your reading pleasure: I want to take a moment to thank all of you for the hard work you have put into SB74. I have been amazed to see the way that everyone has united and come together. Indiana’s Medical Liberty movement has never seen so many people working together for this goal. You have played a key role in that. Please do not underestimate how important your presence is. I have been getting a lot of questions about SB74 and if it is dead. I continue to stand in the truth that SB74 is not dead until it is voted down OR until February 18th passes. At this point I am not confident that Senator Boots will change his mind in time for that. If SB74 is not on the schedule for Wednesday Feb 17th by Monday, then it is safe to say that it will die on February 18th. More calls? So then the question arises, do we continue to make phone calls? I am going to continue this weekend and potentially Monday. First of all Boots *might* come to his senses before Monday and decide to take a vote. I don’t really feel that he will, but at a minimum these calls will be letting him know how upset Indiana is regarding his neglect of this important issue. Call Boots and Bray and say “Send SB74 to the full senate. It is the right thing to do!” Phil Boots 317-234-9054 Rodrick Bray 317-232-9416 You can also call this weekend and have a little fun. The first person to text me back at 260-286-0988 telling me that either Boots or Bray’s mailbox is full will win a special gift from me. What comes next? We will be hosting a meeting this coming Wednesday to discuss our plans moving forward. This job is not done. If SB74 is not heard on Wednesday does NOT mean we go home with our tail between our legs. We have set out to provide protection to Hoosiers, just because the state Legislature has failed the people doesn’t mean we have. Our choices here on out will define our success, not what legislation has been passed. Please be sure to register for this VIRTUAL meeting and bring a notebook! When: Feb 17, 2021 08:30 PM Eastern Time (US and Canada) https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZAkfuqsqzkoHtaJjVUxUezglovigaoPkvTY After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. Growth! The last couple weeks have shown considerable growth for Hoosiers for Medical Liberty. Membership is nearing 250 and our petition has about 2400 signatures. Showing our strength in numbers is one of the most important things we can do for the movement and you play a huge role in that. Each time you share the organization and our mission you are making ripples throughout Indiana. Before we know it our membership will be in the thousands. Keep up the good work and make sure you are telling your friends about the petition and how to become members. We have made it affordable for all families at $10 a year with other options for those who feel called to donate more. Training Ready to learn more so you can be even more effective in future battles with the legislature? I know that this task can seem daunting, especially with all that is going on right now. I invite you to join me for one of the FACL classes here in Indiana. There are two classes coming up at the end of this month. Please go check out the website for dates and then hop over to the registration page and secure your seat! Vaccines Revealed I have had several people forward me a link to the vaccines revealed docuseries on COVID asking me to forward it on. I have seen that it has been censored quite a bit on social media, which is no real shock. Right now, they are showing the episodes for free, one each day. There are a total of 9 episodes, I am pretty sure that they replay them for free again after the initial run so don’t worry if you have missed a couple episodes. I have not been able to watch, but look forward to seeing what all is shared. I hope you find it useful. I look forward to seeing you on Wednesday. Ashley It has been a long couple weeks, hasn’t it! Getting a bill passed is kind of like a relay race. First leg, Senate Committee, second is the full Senate, third will be House Committee, and finally fourth will be the full House. We are nearing the end of the first leg for SB74 and it must be heard in committee before February 18th. A committee report will need to be completed and then it can go to the full Senate. If you remember from early on we discussed how there are a lot of moving parts to all of this. I know it can get confusing, because I would be lying if I didn’t say there have been a few times that I had to check my resources to see what was going on, where we were, and what to do next.
With the end of this leg coming up quick Senator Boots MUST give SB74 a hearing AND vote this or next week. If he does not, the bill will truly be dead. I am not sure if you were able to catch the facebook post from Saturday morning but it outlined the next steps. Mostly adding back in calls to the pensions and labor committee. (Text (260) 286-0988; refresh) The short of it is that Senator Boots has stated that the Senators who have told us they support the bill as it is have not communicated their position to him. It is now our job to make sure they keep their commitment or remind Senator Boots of where they stand. There has been discussion within the movement of amendments and how to get the bill moving. As we saw in the first hearing ANY committee member can bring amendments forward. IF the committee chair allows a vote, they will be heard. In all reality they can do whatever they want with it. The point of this is to say that any of these members can offer up amendments at any time, but they cannot be voted on until Senator Boots has hearing and TAKES A VOTE. Senator Boots did not hold committee last week and doesn’t have a committee meeting on the schedule for this week. He still has time to call committee and vote on SB74. Skipping this week and last there must not be anything else pressing that would prohibit time being spent where constituents want it; on SB74. If he wants constituents to quit calling all he has to do is take it to a vote! Ultimately, we need to be calling Senator Boots along with the rest of the Pensions and Labor Committee. Senators must be true to their word. If you were told by a particular committee member that they support the bill they need to be first on your list of calls. A text was sent out to everyone on our list this morning, please be sure to make those calls today. We have done a great job thus far, let’s drive it home! For those getting a little weary, keep faith! If you are feeling a little frustrated and wondering how you can be more effective while fighting for your liberties? Here is your answer: Foundation for Applied Conservative Leadership! A year ago I was coming out of apathy, I was recognizing that I had to do something or else our Medical Liberty would soon be gone. I attended the Political Leadership Course on Feb. 1st, 2020. You read that right, just a year ago. It gave me the hope and understanding I needed to start moving. It took away the feeling of insignificance and planted seeds of change. February 8th, I started filing paperwork for Hoosiers for Medical Liberty and here we are today. I know that my story is rare but I also know that it is very common for individuals to attend the course and become incredibly powerful within a movement. We could use your help! You can find a list of all current FACL courses within Indiana on our webpage. You can also see out of state courses on FACL’s. My personal goal is to have 6-10 classes in Indiana this year. I already hosted one in Fort Wayne, there is another scheduled for Auburn, and a third in Greenwood (Indy). We are working to get locations in Fountain (W. Central) and Lake (N. West) Counties. If you would like to help get one set up in your area please feel free to reach out directly to FACL or to myself. I would love to see a few classes pop up in Southern Indiana. As always, thank you for all your support. It has been an amazing couple weeks. We have grown by at least 60 members and our petition continues to be shared! I look forward to these next couple weeks and watching SB74 roll into the full senate! Thank you! Hoosiers for Medical Liberty Once again, you guys never disappoint! What a crowd today. I want to thank each and every one of you who helped out. If you were there in person or in spirit, if you shared the event and told friends, or called media outlets. You all played such a large role in the success of today.
Today's rally could not have gone any better. A HUGE thank you to everyone who took time out of your busy Wednesday morning to show up and have your voice heard. You're not only speaking for yourselves and your families, you're also speaking for the 3 million other Hoosiers who will reap the benefits of employment protection once SB74 passes. Your dedication to calling media brought three TV news stations who recorded footage along with two print journalists, all of which completed interviews. Thank you especially to Micah Beckwith, Ali Schaffer, and Tee Watkins. I was so thankful that you each were able to touch on different and important aspects of this bill. I look forward to our continued work together. Many exceptional individual interviews were given about how this bill will affect Hoosiers. It really takes a lot of courage to get in front of a camera and speak your truth! Thank you for being courageous. Hearts and lives were touched by your words, we are so appreciative of you stepping outside your comfort zone to do that! We were able to recorded 96 attendees at the event today and there were possibly more who trickled in! We could feel the love and support of those of you who expressed your desire to be there with us. We all created quite the buzz around the Statehouse, especially once they heard us singing the National Anthem and other patriotic songs. It was safe to say that as we sang those lyrics something stirred deep within all of us. Law makers, law keepers, and law abiding citizens were all reminded of the core principles our country was founded on. We were able to witness a beautiful moment when the Indiana State Troopers stopped walking and turned to give the American flag their attention as we started singing the National Anthem. Filling the Statehouse with our voices was the perfect way to set the tone for the morning! Our purpose was to serve as support to the legislators who are representing us well and to renew our commitment to participating in politics. For far to long we have neglected this responsibility and that ended today. We will continue to communicate how we wish to be represented, we will take ownership of constituent surveys, and we will help keep our elected officials accountable for their responsibility to those they represent. It was important for us to share words of gratitude and appreciation for the Senators who support SB 74 and continue to rally support from their peers. Senate bill 74 simply has to much support to die. It is bipartisan and is backed by thousands of constituents who have continued calling the Statehouse day after day, urging Senator Boots to schedule SB74 for a vote. Senator Boots is the only thing standing in the way of progress. All he has to do is give SB74 its rightful vote. If you have photos of the event today please share them on our Facebook page or on your own social media accounts, using the hashtags #h4ml, #SB74 and #INLegis. You may also email photos along with links to press articles to contact@hoosiersformedicalliberty.com We appreciate your help in collecting them! Again we thank you for your participation in all the success over the past couple weeks. Please stay the course with us and have faith that this is NOT over. Thank you to everyone who joined us today, who shared stories with us, who shared worries with us, and for all who sang with us! What a beautiful, peaceful demonstration of your intensity of support for SB 74. Next Steps: 1. Senators Bray and Boots need to keep hearing from you. I am sure you are a pro by now. If not there is no time like the present. ;) Senate Leader Rodric Bray 317-232-9416 Committee Chair Senator Phil Boots 317-234-9054 2. If you haven't called your own legislators to schedule meetings, please do so. Schedule with both your Senator and House Representative. If you need some help with this you can download our step by step instructions here. 3. Go tell 3 friends about our petition, membership, and success! Our growth depends on your word of mouth, so please take a moment to do this. You can also score some merch, check out the details here. I want everyone to PAUSE calls to the Pensions and labor committee! We have heard from more than one committee member that they are just as frustrated as we are and that their hands are tied. Time to put the pressure squarely where it belongs: on Senate Leadership. They are the only ones who can change this. Please continue your calls to Senators Bray and Boots (phone numbers below). We will refocus some of our energy and start bringing media coverage to the importance of this issue. We ask that you spend the next week calling news stations and letting them know how infuriating it is that SB74 has been held hostage in committee. It is important that you share with the media that the bill has bipartisan support and a total of 9 authors. The news station should be aware of the capture of our legislative leaders, resulting in the betrayal of Hoosier representation and holding the bill hostage. PLEASE TEXT 260-286-0988 the word: MEDIA We will provide Indianapolis contacts and ask that you contact your local stations, as well. They may be able to get video coverage from Indy affiliates of our Wednesday February 3rd Statehouse event.
I just want to remind everyone of our event TOMORROW. We will start at 10 am so please be inside the statehouse and ready to go. This event is to show our Legislators support. Behavior is to reflect that. We will treat the Statehouse with respect; no moving furniture or littering. Treat ALL persons with the integrity and respect that you wish to be represented with. I don't feel this is necessary for this group but feel like these words of affirmation are needed. Now the details: Senate Leader Rodric Bray 317-232-9416 Committee Chair Senator Phil Boots 317-234-9054 To tell them to stop holding SB74 hostage. Next Call the media with the following information: Please provide coverage for Senate Bill 74, an important worker’s rights bill. It is infuriating that SB74 has been held hostage in committee. We have been told to stop calling legislators on this bill because phones were ringing every minute. This bill has bipartisan support AND a total of 9 authors. Constituents will be down at the Statehouse by 10am Wednesday Feb 3rd to show their support for SB74. WRTV6: (317) 262-1440 WishTV8: 317-931-2222 WXIN-TV: 317-632-5900 WTHR13: 317-636-1313 IndyStar: tony.cook@indystar.com https://static.indystar.com/en/submitletter/ Remember to call your local stations as well. Again, text the number above for a list of clickable numbers. Thank you! New here? Welcome! We have loved seeing the growth in membership we have experienced over the last couple weeks. Let’s get a quick review! SB74 is a bill authored by Senator Dennis Kruse to prohibit employers from taking negative action on employees or prospective employees who decline a required vaccine. Indiana for Medical Freedom, Indiana Health Choice Coalition, and Hoosiers for Medical Liberty brought the legislation to Senator Kruse in October after watching unprecedented mandates in Indiana. Scott’s Miracle-Grow, Indiana University, and Purdue University had made the flu vaccine mandatory for its employees as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Logic would dictate that once a COVID vaccine became available, it would be mandated by many more employers. The medical freedom groups in Indiana felt it was a priority to protect Hoosier employment this legislative season. SB74 was assigned to the Pensions and Labor Committee and its first reading was Wednesday January 13th, when over 60 people showed up to support SB74. We are so proud of the medical freedom community for the way they have continued to let their voices be heard! The following week, the State house was closed the due to concerns over potential protests after the Presidential inauguration. Senator Boots set the schedule as the chair of pensions and labor committee and chose to hear SB361, regarding eyelash extensions instead of SB74. Does he feel eyelash extensions are more important than Hoosier rights? SB74 will impact the workforce and economy far more significantly than eyelash extension specialists. Yesterday Senator Boots informed us that he has unilaterally decided that SB74 is not worth taking a vote on. SB74 is worth it! He along with 3 other members of the committee have signed on as Authors/Co-authors of the bill. SB74 has a total of 9 senators on the bill and bipartisan support. THIS BILL DESERVES A VOTE!  "It's the right thing to do." -Senate Leader Rodric Bray Senator Rodric Bray has been quoted stating that SB74 is the right thing to do and yet somehow Senator Boots doesn’t feel that there is enough support for SB74, or is it that he just doesn’t want to have to go on record? SB74 is important for many reasons. First and foremost, the Indiana State Legislator’s role is to protect the citizens. They have the duty to uphold the Indiana State Constitution, Text of Section 3:Freedom of Religious Opinions which states: "No law shall, in any case whatever, control the free exercise and enjoyment of religious opinions, or interfere with the rights of conscience." This bill does NOT prohibit an employer from making the mandate, it simply protects the employee from discrimination if they exercise their right to religion, conscious and bodily autonomy. Bodily autonomy, or the right to decide what happens to one’s own body, is a foundational concept in medicine and human rights. Medical coercion does not fall in line with Indiana's moral or ethical standards of Indiana as evidence by 2020’s HB1143 which prohibited employers from requiring their employees to receive microchips. Microchips can be removed, have no “solicited adverse reactions,” and do not have much potential to have long term health effects. On the other hand, vaccines cannot be removed and according to Congress are “unaviodably unsafe." Vaccines are known to have several adverse effects and long-term consequences. In 2019, a total of $225,457,657.94 was paid out by the Vaccine Injury Compensation Program. Is there such a program for microchips? SB74 will also provide protections for an employee whose employer ignores the law and fires them anyway. Some might try to argue that Indiana is an “at will” state and therefor restrictions on the employer should be limited. We learned about the microchip bill above and Indiana also has the “Right to Work” bill that passed without any upheaval from the Chamber of Commerce in Indiana. The Right to Work bill prohibited employers from making union membership a condition of employment. The Right to Work bill has not resulted in increased risks of litigation for employers and neither will SB74. Statistically speaking, most businesses will follow the law. It is only if a business breaks the law by discriminating against an employee that they would have an increased risk for civil recourse. Anyone else seeing a double standard here? Are Indiana legislators unwilling to protect the bodily autonomy and sovereignty of their constituents? Senator Boots has stated that “Some believe that federal regulations already provide protections for employees and employers.” Unfortunately the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has made numerous statements to the contrary when it comes to protecting employees. We have also seen that employers defy current Indiana Code which provides very limited exemptions for specific employees, even within the same employer. Some may “allow” religious exemptions but ask for unconstitutional proof via religious tests or letters from clergy. Victims of discrimination who have been denied or lost employment have trouble finding attorneys who will take their case. If a case is accepted, it is either a class action suit or the individual is expected to pay amounts in the ballpark of $10,000 upfront. Federal protections do not seem to hold much water. Finally, and potentially most important for the preservation of “rights of conscience” in SB74, are minority groups who have historically been targeted for medical experimentation like seen in Tuskegee. Do these vulnerable populations not deserve the right to simply decline as a result of these atrocious acts performed right here on US soil? So where do we go from here? We keep going! Our Medical Liberty community has done such an amazing job and we are NOT done yet. We even heard that Senator Boots has never felt more special, reporting that he was receiving calls EVERY MINUTE! We need to continue to send Senator Boots the message that Hoosiers will not be ignored! What is the plan? Keep calling! We will persist. We have our play book and are working hard behind the scenes, but we need your help. Here is how:
What do you say? Let them all know you expect SB74 to be heard by the full senate! You might go so far as to say you expect its passage through the Senate. These might be a few talking points.
Statehouse Event on Wednesday February 3rd We expect to start at 10am. All in attendance are to act with kindness. More information to come! While we wait on protections of conscience from SB74 we wanted to make sure you have the tools you need. We have recently seen an uptick in the number of requests for exemption forms. We have one attached here. Please feel free to share it and this blog with friends, family, and co-workers. 
As always, we appreciate your hard work and dedication in sharing information about our bill, petition, and membership. If you have not taken the opportunity to become a member yet you can do so here. We worked to make it affordable to all at $10 per year. There are also options for larger increments as well as monthly donations for those who feel called to do so.
Thank you again! I will be updating this further after our meeting. Please download and print the worksheet to be used!
Thank you to those of you who were able to make the meeting. This was such an important meeting we felt it was important to share it with you all! You can review the recording here! We are working closely with Indiana for Medical Freedom and Indiana Health Choice Coalition to make this bill successful! We are so blessed to have this excellent collaborative team. Here is a great write up by Indiana for Medical Freedom did as a follow up to our joint meeting: Wednesday January 13 at 9:30 a.m. senate bill 74 will have a hearing in the Pensions and Labor committee. WE NEED YOU TO COME TESTIFY at the Indiana Statehouse 200 W Washington St, Indianapolis, IN 46204. If you have not seen the bill yet, the full version can be found here, or read the synopsis: Workplace immunization prohibition. Prohibits an employer from requiring, as a condition of employment, an employee or prospective employee to receive any immunization if the immunization is medically contraindicated for the employee or receiving the immunization is against the employee’s religious beliefs or conscience. Allows for a civil action against an employer for a violation. One of the most intimidating things about testifying is getting to the right place at the right time. The meeting has a good review of where to go and the “lay of the land.” Below you can also see a map of the area around the Indiana State House. The red line indicates the public entrance off Capitol Ave. There is metered parking on the streets around the State House. The closest parking garage is marked with a blue dot and is across the street from the public entrance.  To enter the building, there will be a security check that involves putting your belongings in the xray machine, like at the airport, and walking through a metal detector. Where do you go once inside the statehouse? There is an information desk and the security staff can point you in the right direction to find it. The hearing starts at 9:30. The public will be testifying in Room 404, and the room will open no sooner than 30 minutes before the meeting. Plan to leave enough time that you will be outside Room 404 at 9:00 a.m. That may mean you arrive in the downtown area by 8:30 or sooner to find parking, go through security, and find Room 404. Here is a link to find to the safety protocol at the State House for Covid guidelines. You can fill out an appearance to testify form online starting at 7:00 a.m. on the day of the hearing. Follow this link to click the blue box that says Appearance Form. Paper appearance forms will also be available for completion outside of Room 404 thirty minutes before the hearing starts. What do you say during testimony? Several people have asked this question. First of all, testimony is timed and usually no more than 3 minutes. If a large number of people show up, it may be shorter than 3 minutes. After you complete the appearance form, you will wait until your name is called to go speak at the podium. The usual order of testimony is for Supporters of the bill to speak first and Opposition to speak after, but this is not always the case.
These are a few of the main points, but there are numerous reasons that SB 74 is necessary. Having the basic human right to bodily autonomy without being discriminated against by being unemployable is a big one. Vaccines are liability free, and anyone who takes them is responsible for injury that may occur. Most of all speak from the heart. Speak with strength. Speak with truth. and Speak up for your rights, even if your voice shakes. Your shaking voice is a signal, it shows that you feel this issue is so important you are facing your fears and CONQUERING THEM. If you have concerns about writing your testimony, download, and use this worksheet. Then bring it with you on Wednesday.
For those who simply cannot make it to the State House to testify (and even those who can), here is the contact information for the Legislators on the Pensions and Labor Committee. The Committee members will be the ones that take a vote on the bill. Once it passes in Committee, it gets moved to the full 50 members of the Senate. Please remember that a phone call is much more impactful than an email! Phone calls take time. Phone calls tie up Legislative assistants. Phone calls are personal. These calls can make or break this bill. If you feel so inclined you can call daily to make sure the message is heard LOUD AND CLEAR! You can also leave a voicemail if it is after hours. These are still effective! If an assistant comes in for the day and has to spend 20 minutes listening to voicemails we have done our job well!! If you are unable to make calls emails are great, too. In fact, there is no reason you cannot do both. ;) A great and easy way is to utilize the tool that Stand for Health Freedom has provided for our use. Using this link you can effectively send out emails to the entire Labor and Pensions committee as well as a few of your own legislators! Senator John Crane: Legislative Assistant: Morgan Torres Phone: 317-232-9984 Email: s24@iga.in.gov Senator Phil Boots: Email: Senator.Boots@iga.in.gov Legislative Assistant: Sarah Potter Phone: 317-234-9054 Email: Sarah.Potter@iga.in.gov Senator Linda Rogers Email: Senator.Rogers@iga.in.gov Legislative aide: Cassie Anderson Phone: 317-234-9443 Email: Cassie.Anderson@iga.in.gov Senator Greg Walker Phone: 317-232-9984 Email Senator.Greg.Walker@iga.in.gov Legislative Assistant: Morgan Torres Email: Morgan.Torres@iga.in.gov Senator Chip Perfect Legislative Assistant: Michael Conway Phone: 317-232-9489 Email: Michael.Conway@iga.in.gov Senator Blake Doriot Email: Senator.Doriot@iga.in.gov Legislative Assistant: Ryan Ritchie Phone: 317-232-9808 Email: Ryan.Ritchie@iga.in.gov Senator Karen Tallian Legislative Assistant: Tyler Hempfling Phone: 317-232-9404 | 800-382-9467 Email: s4@iga.in.gov Senator Fady Qaddoura Legislative Assistant: Tyler Hempfling Phone: 317-232-9404 | 800-382-9467 Email: s30@iga.in.gov Senator David Niezgodski Legislative Assistant: Shaneé Francher-Donald Phone: 317-232-9491 | 800-382-9467 Email: s10@iga.in.gov
As always, thank you for your support and dedication. This bill could not have come this far without all of you working along side us. It is because of you that we are growing in numbers. Please continue to share the petition, tell people how inexpensive and easy membership is. I have truly gargantuan goals for this organization they will require more Hoosiers. Together we are more powerful than imaginable. Keep up the good work and send the following message to 3 friends NOW!
💪💪💪 Hi! Did you see Senate Bill 74 protecting workers rights? Hoosiers for Medical Liberty has been working for months to preserve your right to decline a mandated vaccine. Support them by signing the petition at hoosiersformedicalliberty.com/workerprotectionact after signing it will take you straight to the membership page, please become a member and help solidify Medical Liberty here in Indiana. 💪💪💪 Thank you again, Hoosiers for Medical Liberty Indiana for Medical Freedom Indiana Health Choice Coalition We are so excited to announce that all the work we have been doing has started to pay off! Our bill has officially been filed and is set to be heard this session. Indiana Health Choice Coalition, Indiana For Medical Freedom and Hoosiers for Medical Liberty thank you all for your support. You can find SB 74 here! I have seen a few questions pop up and so I think it is important to go over the basics. Indiana has it’s own Senate and House of Representatives where bills are heard and passed into Indiana state law once the Governor signs them. This is separate from the House and Senate in D.C. the bills that are heard there, become federal laws once signed by the President. How a bill becomes a law… If you would rather listen to School house rock "I'm just a bill." it might be more entertaining. The same principles apply except it is on a state level.
Important info below!!!! Everyone needs to understand that there will be multiple times where we will be asking for your help. This is very intentional and VERY IMPORTANT! As step 6 says, we repeat the same process, it might feel like we are being redundant, but we aren't I promise! There will be a whole new group of people that need to be encouraged to vote yes. If we don't do the second part we risk FAILURE. We will be successful. We are armed with knowledge and some of the most passionate activists! We WILL be successful but we cannot do this without you. The opportunities to testify might have short notice so early notification is important. This year that is even more of a concern than in previous years due to the speed at which they are moving through meetings as a result of C-19 restrictions. The best way to get notifications is to become a member of Hoosiers for Medical Liberty. As a member you can agree to text messages so we can send you direct and timely messages. **Learn more about testifying at our meeting Jan 7th! If you cannot testify, we need you calling! Even if you do not think you can make it for testimony, timely alerts are important. We still need you to call your legislators. It does not matter if you talk to a live person, leave a message! If you work strange hours call when you can, voicemail is there for a reason. YOUR VOICE MAKES A DIFFERENCE! If the legislative assistant has to listen to 50 voicemails by 8:00 am the day of hearing, we have done our jobs well! (hint hint, that is an expectation!) We will be counting on you to CALL encouraging a YES vote. The legislative assistants tally the calls and report to the legislators especially when a bill is getting a lot of calls. Strong supportive attention can push a legislator to vote “YES.” Where are we now?!? We are currently in step number 4 above. Our bill originated in the Senate and will be heard in committee. You are not guaranteed a hearing. As part of our preliminary footwork we have laid the groundwork to secure a hearing. SB74 could be heard in committee as early as next week. After it is heard and passed in committee it will go to the next full senate session. It could be the next day! After It passes in the senate it will move over to the House, be assigned a committee, and we start the process over again. *Your primary role right now is to be sure to call YOUR senator and let them know how important SB74 is to you and your family. Calls do not have to be lengthy, something simple will be just as effective as a lengthy message. “Hello (Assistant’s name) Would you please tell Senator ________ that I expect his/her support of SB 74. It is imperative to the financial and emotional well being of our family. Thank you!” Feel free to add more info if you would like. If you want to hit a home run, then schedule a meeting with your Senator. It can be a zoom call or a telephone conference of 15 minutes. Say your pleasantries, discuss SB 74 and what it means to your family, how you have seen this as a threat to employment, and any discrimination or harassment you have received regarding the vaccine. Just remember, these are real people, with families and “day jobs” too, be kind yet firm on your stance. **They also might have concerns that their government employer might mandate the vaccine.** *Your secondary role in this is continuing to spread the petition, information about SB 74, and getting your friends to contact their Senators! It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Send your friend a text. “Hey Lisa! Have you seen the info for SB 74, it protects employees from mandated COVID vaccine.” When they reply you send them another text with our website- hoosiersformedicalliberty.com where they can sign the petition. When they confirm tell them about this blog post, how important, and EASY it is to call your senator. Encourage them to pick up the phone today. Congrats! You just completed a crash course in activism during legislative season! How does it feel? If you are still feeling uneasy or just want to make sure you have all the details be sure to register for our meeting Thursday Jan 7th. Add contact@hoosiersformedicalliberty.com to your email contacts because that is where the invite will come from. Sometimes our emails end up in promotions or spam. Keep us out of there please!!
Thank you again! Local headlines make it seem as though the experimental COVID-19 vaccine is moving into Hoosier nursing homes as early as NEXT WEEK! No one really knows what to expect, but we are doing our best to stay ahead of the curve, because of this we wanted to provide a little information so you can prepare appropriately. First of all, we have had people report that the nursing homes are reaching out to family and are being clear that you CAN decline the experimental vaccine. This is great news for those worried about requirements! This is an interesting and multilayered issue for many. I want to talk about the “not so obvious” for a moment. I think it is safe to say that being in a long-term care facility right now is pretty isolating. For some it may have been months since their families have been to see them. Before getting too anxious about the vaccine, I think it is very important to TALK with your loved one first. It is very hard to determine what their opinion might be. It would certainly be very difficult to be so isolated, vulnerable, and hearing about how this vaccine is “the way out.” I encourage you to check on your loved one, see how they are doing, and if you haven’t specifically discussed the experimental vaccine do so! This can be a high-tension topic if you are not aware of your loved one’s stance. It is natural to be concerned about them especially when you are not able to physically visit with them. Here are a few tips for your conversation:
If your loved one would like to decline the experimental vaccine, they should be provided with the opportunity to do so. Several people have asked about how to exempt loved ones so we thought we would provide a little guidance. It is important to note that the forms on the exemptions blog do NOT cover the experimental COVID-19 vaccine. Indiana state law only provides for exemptions for influenza and pneumonia vaccines. Indiana state Constitution guarantees freedom of religion and beliefs of conscious. Many individuals object based on religious grounds, and so that is the exemption form we will give as an example. You can make your own if you prefer. Simply draft a letter with the date, name of the nursing home, along with a statement about the individual’s religious beliefs preventing them from getting the vaccine, sign and submit. If you have any questions, please feel free to send us an email contact@hoosiersformedicalliberty.com As always, please be sure to sign the petition supporting The Worker Protection Act HERE. If you like the work we are doing please be sure to become a member to support our mission!
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AuthorAshley Grogg RN-MSN sharing insights, tips, and updates on Medical Liberty throughout the Hoosier state. Archives
February 2021
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