Guiding The Impact

Shaping federal policy for faith & freedom to protect religious liberty, promote equal access to education/healthcare & uphold God-given rights over our health.

[Elyse Young @elyseyoung23]

Read the full report here: https://t.co/hVdlRuE2Jq

[Rapid Response 47 @RapidResponse47]

.@DrPhil, member of the Religious Liberty Commission: "What stuck out at me is how many Americans showed up saying that they were persecuted in healthcare, military, education... It’s not just the liberty to choose which house of worship they want, it’s actually getting into their daily life, and they're being persecuted in their jobs, in their professions... They’re having the courage to come and talk about that. They can’t show a cross on their desk at school, they can’t refuse a vaccine because it’s against their religion—and they’re having the courage to stand up for that, and President Trump is backing them all the way."

[The White House @WhiteHouse]

President Trump Receives Presentation of the Religious Liberty Commission Report https://t.co/v9UtwE5Ojt

[Guiding The Impact @Guiding_Impact]

🚨A major new Religious Liberty Commission report was released today and presented to President Trump. Its vaccine-policy recommendations are exactly why families of faith must keep paying attention.

The Commission’s newly released draft report recognizes that vaccine mandates can force Americans into an impossible choice: compromise sincerely held religious beliefs or lose access to education, employment, healthcare, and other basic opportunities.

Most importantly, the report recommends meaningful federal action to protect religious freedom in relation to vaccines, including:

• Investigating and litigating against federally funded schools, healthcare entities, and government institutions that unlawfully deny religious exemptions

• Supporting litigation to protect the right of schoolchildren to receive religious exemptions from vaccine mandates

• Advancing federal legislation requiring educational institutions that receive federal support to honor students’ religious exemptions

• Issuing clear guidance from the Departments of Education, HHS, and the EEOC on religious accommodations in schools, employment, and healthcare

• Sending official letters to federally funded entities that deny religious exemptions while allowing comparable non-religious exemptions

• Prioritizing ethically acceptable vaccine alternatives for those with objections related to the use of aborted fetal cell lines

This matters because it confirms what so many families have experienced: religious liberty cannot be treated as a lesser right, and people of faith should not be excluded from school, work, healthcare, or public life because they seek to live according to conscience.

We are especially grateful that Guiding the Impact’s public comments and coalition letter are cited in the report’s vaccine recommendations and were taken into account in the development of the report. The voices of families who have been shut out of education and other essential opportunities are being heard!

Please read and share the report -- especially Chapter 10, “Conscience and Coercion in Vaccine Policy.” This is an important opportunity to build real, lasting protections for religious freedom in education, healthcare, employment, and beyond.

Read the report here:
https://t.co/L2CsaZ4lx9

#ReligiousLiberty #VaccineMandates #ReligiousExemption #ParentalRights #MedicalFreedom #EducationFreedom #GuidingTheImpact

[HHS Civil Rights @HHSOCR]

"OCR is done treating conscience rights as second-class rights. Conscience rights are civil rights."

— @HHSOCR, Director Paula M. Stannard, Director

#ConscienceRights #CivilRights #ReligiousFreedom

[Guiding The Impact @Guiding_Impact]

Thank you, @SecKennedy and @HHSOCR for all your hard work protecting Americans conscience and free exercise of religion.

[HHS Civil Rights @HHSOCR]

Thanks @SecKennedy for your commitment restore and protect conscience and religious liberty.
#HHS #MAHA #ConscienceRights #CivilRights #ReligiousFreedom

[Guiding The Impact @Guiding_Impact]

@HHSOCR This is desperately needed. Thank you 🙏

[Elyse Young @elyseyoung23]

🚨Florida, we’re not giving up on our freedom, our parental rights or our children’s health!!!

Budget special session starts next week!

Please urge Speaker Perez, Budget Committee Chair McClure and bill sponsor, Rep Andrade, to amend the healthcare budget conforming bill HB 5301E to include all provisions of the Medical Freedom Act.

#MAHAMUSCLE

[Guiding The Impact @Guiding_Impact]

Why are you opposed to protecting the conscience of patients and parents when it comes to vaccine mandates?

Per HHS Office of Civil Rights, conscience rights are civil rights! You are on the wrong side of this issue, sir.

Speaker @Daniel_PerezFL,
amend the healthcare budget conforming bill HB 5301E to include the Medical Freedom Act provisions. This will implement key elements of the MAGA/MAHA agenda in Florida.

https://t.co/5ICa9AuFYy

[HHS Civil Rights @HHSOCR]

Conscience rights are civil rights!

[Elyse Young @elyseyoung23]

Agreed. So why are you holding up the President’s MAHA agenda here in Florida by obstructing the medical freedom bill that will NOT END VACCINE MANDATES, but will increase transparency, strengthen informed consent and honor parental and conscience rights? Please advance this critical legislation at an upcoming special session.

[Guiding The Impact @Guiding_Impact]

RT @G_W_Forum: Will Florida lead...or let this moment pass? Florida has a historic opportunity to protect medical freedom and the time to a…

[Stand For Health Freedom Florida @Stand4HealthFL]

Did you hear the news?!

Florida’s Governor, aka America’s Governor, called for a special session that includes Medical Freedom! Staring April 28th, we need you there!

Interested in attending? Email me [email protected] and we will plan!

[Elyse Young @elyseyoung23]

Speaker @Daniel_PerezFL , like you, I am deeply concerned about protecting Florida’s children from preventable diseases. That shared priority is exactly why Florida must pass the Medical Freedom Act during this special session.

You noted in an interview with Politico that it would be "tough" to allow parents to opt out of the MMR vaccine "in the middle of a measles outbreak." Respectfully, the data shows we are no longer in the middle of an uncontrolled outbreak -- we are in the final stages of a highly localized cluster. As of the latest Florida Department of Health reports (week ending April 4–11, 2026), statewide cases have held steady at approximately 144–145 total for the year, with zero new cases in recent weeks and Collier County (the epicenter) flat at approx. 106–107 cases since late March. The vast majority trace back to a specific 15–24 age group at Ave Maria University -- not a statewide emergency or a failure of parental choice across Florida.

Florida’s kindergarten MMR vaccination rate remains among the highest in the nation, yet as with any live-virus vaccine, there will always be outbreaks even in highly vaccinated populations because no vaccine is 100% effective and immunity can wane. The solution is not to pause parental rights until the last case disappears -- that sets a dangerous precedent that could delay medical freedom indefinitely. True public health comes from trust, transparency, and informed consent, not coercion.

The Medical Freedom Act you have the power to advance does not eliminate vaccine requirements; it adds a conscience/philosophical exemption with mandatory informed-consent materials so parents receive full risk-benefit information before deciding. We urge you to also include strong protections ending vaccine-status discrimination, including in medical settings, so no Floridian is denied healthcare, employment, or education based on personal medical choices. It empowers families while protecting public health -- exactly the balanced approach Florida has championed on so many other issues.

You said you are "concerned" but "open to having a conversation about the issue." Governor DeSantis has now placed this squarely on the special-session agenda. The conversation is here. Florida parents -- including the hundreds of thousands represented through @Guiding_Impact, @G_W_Forum, @FLChildrensHD, @Stand4HealthFL and our MAHA community -- are asking you to trust them with the same medical freedom you have fought to protect in other areas. Let’s pass the Medical Freedom Act and show the nation that parental rights and public safety are not in conflict.

I respectfully urge you to support this bill and strengthen it with anti-discrimination language. Thank you, Speaker Perez, for your outstanding leadership in protecting Florida families and for keeping the door open to this vital conversation. I’m confident your guidance will help Florida continue leading the nation on parental rights and common-sense public health policy.

@GovRonDeSantis @RonDeSantis @Sen_Albritton @Clay_Yarborough @FLGOPMajority

[Elyse Young @elyseyoung23]

🚨 MEDICAL FREEDOM IS BACK ON THE AGENDA IN FLORIDA! 🚨

Governor DeSantis has called a Special Session — and medical freedom is part of the call! It’s time to SHOW UP, SPEAK UP, and FINISH THE JOB!

📍 Be in Tallahassee April 28 – May 1
Make your voice heard. Let lawmakers know Florida families are watching.

Contact Speaker Daniel Perez & Your Rep NOW:
📞 [phone] and [phone]
✉️ [email protected]

Find your Florida House Representative here:
👉 https://t.co/hyKdqkFJay

Respectfully urge them to:
✅ Advance strong Medical Freedom legislation like SB 1756 & HB 917
✅ Include clear language that PROHIBITS discrimination based on vaccination status — including in medical settings.

And don’t forget to thank @GovRonDeSantis for putting Medical Freedom on the agenda!

Freedom isn’t just promised. It’s protected. Let’s make sure Florida delivers. 💪

#MedicalFreedom #FloridaStrong #FloridaLeads

[Stand For Health Freedom Florida @Stand4HealthFL]

@RonDeSantis is keeping his word and continuing the fight for health freedom.

Our issue is now included in this month’s Special Session.

Who’s ready? 🔥

[Guiding The Impact @Guiding_Impact]

🌟Thank You, Religious Liberty Commission - Now Let’s Turn Words Into Action! 🙏

A big thank you to President Trump’s Religious Liberty Commission for including a dedicated panel on religious exemptions and religious discrimination in medical settings during their recent hearing. Providing a national stage for powerful testimony from families, students, and medical professionals facing vaccine mandates with no religious accommodation was a crucial step forward.

But the fight isn’t over.

In states like New York, California, Connecticut, Maine, and West Virginia, children are still being denied education and families face ongoing discrimination - all because unconstitutional mandates ignore sincerely held religious beliefs. Across the country, kids are also being turned away from routine medical care simply for their faith.

Now is the time to act!

Take 60 seconds to:
✅ Thank the Commission for elevating this issue, AND
✅ Strongly urge them to prioritize our policy recommendations in their final report and presentation to President Trump this May.

We sent over 13,000 emails urging the Commission to address this issue. They heard our cries and they were moved by our prayers. Now let's send 13,000 more so they keep our children at the forefront of their hearts and minds as they move forward with finalizing their work for the President!

Every single email counts. Let’s stand together to protect the religious freedom of all American families and children for generations to come!

👉 Send Your Message Now:
https://t.co/K2ebYBDhVa

Please share this post so more families of faith can speak up! 💪

#ReligiousLiberty #ReligiousExemptions #ParentalRights #ProtectOurKids #ReligiousLibertyCommission

[Guiding The Impact @Guiding_Impact]

Excellent article by Lifesite News on the religious exemption panel included at the President's Religious Liberty Commission healthcare hearing!

Additional context related to our quote: Guiding the Impact led a broad coalition in submitting a formal letter to the Commission on June 4, 2025, urging immediate action on the crisis in New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine. The letter called for three key policy recommendations to be included in the Commission’s report to the President: (1) an Executive Order and legislation to withhold federal funds from educational institutions that deny religious exemptions to vaccination requirements; (2) DOJ legal action against New York, California, Connecticut, and Maine for Free Exercise violations; and (3) HHS regulations and legislation to prohibit federally funded medical providers from denying non-emergency care based on religious objections to vaccinations.

To watch the full video of our panel, please click this link:
https://t.co/X8W9bfYXir

"Families share heartbreaking testimonies on laws banning religious exemptions for vaccines

The families' testimonies highlighted a clear message: sincere religious beliefs should never bar American children from equal access to education or healthcare.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews) — Parents and their children delivered powerful testimonies before a recent Religious Liberty Commission (RLC) hearing, revealing how state laws eliminating religious exemptions for vaccines have denied thousands of children access to education and forced devastating sacrifices on families of faith.

Their testimonies highlighted a clear message: sincere religious beliefs should never bar American children from equal access to education or healthcare.

During the RLC’s sixth hearing which focused on religious liberty violations in healthcare, two mothers and their daughters described years of exclusion, financial hardship, and emotional suffering after New York and California removed religious exemptions for required vaccines. The panel also featured Dr. Aaron Kheriaty, a psychiatrist and bioethicist at the Ethics and Public Policy Center.

Nancy, a mother from New York, and her daughter Isabella described how the 2019 repeal of New York’s religious exemption – a right that had stood for over 50 years – changed their lives forever.

On her seventh birthday, Isabella lost her right to go to school. After years of isolation and forced homeschooling, the family now drives three hours each day to an out-of-state Christian school at great financial and emotional cost.

“No child should ever have to go through what I did,” Isabella told the commission. “All children in the United States should have equal opportunities and access to education regardless of their faith.”

“The state treated me as though I was dangerous and sick,” Isabella shared, “I carry the effects to this day.”

“Family should not be forced to sacrifice education, employment, financial stability, and the peaceful enjoyment of life in order to maintain religious convictions as they raise their children,” added Nancy.

The family expressed deep gratitude to the Trump administration “for finally giving us a voice.”

In California, single mother Karen and her seven-year-old daughter Riley Grace told a similar story. Because of a state law enacted in 2015 which removed personal beliefs as cause for exemptions from vaccination requirements, Riley is homeschooled while her mother works full time, yet still watches other children walk to school each morning.

“My heart breaks in ways I never expected,” Karen testified. Little Riley added with simple honesty: “I pray to go to school like others.”

RLC Commissioner Allyson Ho spoke directly to the mothers and daughters with deep admiration: “To watch your child be hurt and to stick to your principles is next level courage.… God is going to do amazing things.”

Kheriaty addressed conscience rights for both healthcare workers and families.

Responding to Commissioner Kelly Shackelford’s question about pediatricians dismissing patients who decline vaccines – noting that many practices appear to do so because they are financially incentivized by the CDC’s recommended schedule – Kheriaty explained that the number of shots has ballooned dramatically.

“When I was a kid … there were 18 shots,” he said. “Today, there’s between 72 and 90” to follow the full schedule, turning routine well-child care visits into a major revenue source for pediatric practices.

Kheriaty called for stronger federal conscience protections and open scientific debate: “Science advances by asking inconvenient questions.… The attempt to control speech within science and medicine … is not only something that violates the First Amendment … but it’s also bad science and bad medicine.”

During the hearing, the commissioners repeatedly returned to the theme of parental rights.

Cardinal Timothy Dolan reminded the panel of the landmark principle from Pierce v. Society of Sisters: “The child is not the creature of the state.”

“This week’s hearing was an important step, but we are calling on the Religious Liberty Commission to include the three key recommendations from our June 4, 2025, coalition letter in their final report and presentation to President Trump this May,” said Elyse Young, founder of Guiding the Impact, which facilitated the testimonies. “Real change requires implementing these concrete recommendations so that no family is ever again forced to sacrifice their child’s education or healthcare to live according to their faith.”

Connecticut Residents Against Medical Mandates Secretary Amber Webster expressed her excitement and deep gratitude to Donald Trump and the Religious Liberty Commission for elevating the voices of families impacted by the removal of religious exemptions for childhood immunizations.

“We are incredibly encouraged to see a national platform finally acknowledging the real and lasting impact these policies have had on families in Connecticut, New York, Maine, and California,” said Webster. “For many, this struggle began as early as 2019, and for years, parents have felt silenced, dismissed, and excluded from meaningful dialogue. Now, they are finally being heard.”

[Guiding The Impact @Guiding_Impact]

Families share heartbreaking testimonies on laws banning religious exemptions for vaccines

The families' testimonies highlighted a clear message: sincere religious beliefs should never bar American children from equal access to education or healthcare.

https://t.co/BVJ0YcC1QS

[Guiding The Impact @Guiding_Impact]

Please add your name to the call for COVID justice!

[Jeffrey A Tucker @jeffreytucker]

Every account and certainly every institution that believes in civil liberties, religious freedom, and commercial rights ought to be promoting this. It's the one means we have of being heard. https://t.co/VaO6kH0WoH

[Guiding The Impact @Guiding_Impact]

@jeffreytucker Guiding the Impact just signed on. Thank you for spearheading such a worthy effort!! 🙏