The Highwire with Del Bigtree - MEDICAL FREEDOM’S ‘TEXAS SIZED’ WIN!

Episode Date: November 23, 2023

Founder and Executive Director OF Texans for Medical Freedom, Jackie Shlegel, joins Del to share the monumental legal win this week in Texas and how she played an integral part in helping get SB7 passed, which protects private employees from being mandated to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Jackie details how she worked closely with Texas Governor Greg Abbott to pass this historic legislation.Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/the-highwire-with-del-bigtree--3620606/support.

These are amazing times, and we keep celebrating here on the high wire all of the different wins, all the movement we're starting to see in the world, the conversations that are changing. Many of them are changing because of the work that we're doing here that you're sharing the message. There's also warrior mothers all across this country that have built a movement that seems almost unstoppable. Headlines talking about it all the time. There's winning, and then there's winning. And when I'm talking about winning, take a look of this. Governor Abbott signing a bill into law to ban private employers from having COVID-19 vaccine mandate. Governor Greg Abbott signed Senate Bill 7 into law today.

Senate Bill 7 will ban private employers from requiring their workers to get the COVID-19 vaccine. Private employers who require employees to get a COVID vaccine or take adverse action against an unvaccinated employee could face a $50,000 fine. The Republican governor has long taken a stance against vaccine requirements. SB 7 is now law in the state of Texas. It's long past time to put COVID behind us and restore individual freedom to all Texas. Texas is not the first state to create some sort of ban on workplace vaccine mandates. And the state already prohibits governments from requiring COVID vaccinations. SB 7 becomes law more than two years.

years after Houston Methodist Hospital ousted 150 employees for refusing to get vaccinated for the coronavirus. The new law does not exempt hospitals and health care facilities from the ban, but does allow them to require unvaccinated workers take precautions. It was been a priority for him since the beginning of this year when he said that he wanted to end all COVID restrictions entirely. And he there saying again that this is the final piece of that. This bill is is extraordinarily important when it comes to individual freedom of the people in the state of Texas, including the freedom of all Texans to make their own decisions about what health care they want to access and what health care they want to reject. I've said it several times when we were

leaving California with our family and ultimately the high wire in our cast and crew, we landed in Texas. One of the reasons was Texas just had such a great group of people. that were really changing this conversation with the legislator, with the Senate, with the health committees. When I would come in, I said, I don't know what you're doing here, but you have got real open eyes now listening to this conversation about medical freedom and about the vaccine issue. Well, at the heart of that is Jackie Schlegel, founder and co-director of Texans for Medical Freedom. It is my honor and pleasure to be joined now by Jackie. Congratulations.

I am so excited to be here. Look, the reality is, is the last 30 days have been so intense. The last two years, we just came off a grueling legislative session, but the result of that is the most sweeping bill that we have seen in the country to ban COVID vaccine mandates. I mean, there's several things about this that I think are really exciting. Number one, it's something you've been at for years. And we've talked about that and this work that you're doing. But I don't think I've seen, you know, first of all, Texans, one of the things I've liked here is I said, you've been in an offensive position. When people ask me, what do we do? What we should be doing in legislation? I said, get out of a defensive position and get into an offensive position. So we've been bringing a lot of bills here and being proactive.

But what makes this unique is I don't think I've seen, correct me if I'm wrong, someone out there might be, you know, correct me. but standing with the governor in these images, seeing you standing up there on the stage, usually when we've had successes, they still kind of keep us in the dark. And you're right there with Governor Greg Abbott's arm around you. It just shows what it means to develop relationships. And I want to talk to you a little bit about that. How important was it, you know, all the years you've been working on this? There are times in California work that we've done where people will like really be, you know,

bring animosity towards a governor, towards people saying they're not listening to me. Sure. I know you've had a different approach. Tell me about that. Absolutely. Well, first, I just have to say thank you to Governor Abbott and his team. These conversations started two years ago with medical freedom. For me and you, it's something that we've been talking about for years. We go back in our community. This is something that we live and breathe. But for many of our elected officials, this is a new conversation, a new topic. Two years ago, I sat there.

with the governor's team. Again, thank you to them for giving me the opportunity. And slowly, but surely, we have walked hand in hand to pass policy in the state of Texas to protect your rights. And that's what it takes. It's very rarely is this just one bill, one stop. I mean, this is a process. We had incredible senators, representatives who have been working with us hand in hand for the last two years to come to this point where we have the most sweeping legislative. in the entire country. I'm incredibly proud of that. And you have something beautiful here. Can we like pull this up and just I want to touch it? Can we just see? It is the most beautiful. I will allow you to touch it.

This is what it feels like when the governor hands you and this is like the actual bill. There it is with the signature on it. And how do you have it? I mean like what how did you this get handed to you? I'm going to tell you my jaw dropped when the governor, you know, I was invited to the signing, which was such an honor. Yeah. Again, I worked hand in hand with Senator Mays Middleton, Representative Jeff Leach, as you saw in the photo, there were so many representatives who have walked this journey with us at Texans for Medical Freedom the last two years. Look, it was so the negotiations, the intensity of getting this bill to the finish line was unlike anything I had ever been a part of. And our elected officials said, you know what?

we are going to stand strong no matter what the lobby does no matter what the associations do no matter what the pressure is we are going to stand with you we are going to stand with texans for medical freedom and we're going to stand with the citizens of texas to get this bill done so to be up there on that stage with the governor and to have him turn to me address me by name and say i want you to have this and hand it to me i have no words This is Texans for medical freedom. This is the last eight years. This is everything we worked for.

And we're just getting started. This is the first of much more to come. You know, it's interesting. We've had Amy Bond and Perk out of California, you know, really I can work with them. And changing the way that we're doing this, right? Like we actually hired a lobbyist there. Developing relationship is something that we're really, and I think you're one of the pioneers of that great work. There's other great states.

I mean, we're not the only one. But there really is this shift. When I started, there's a lot of like anger and rage, especially in California, SB 277. Rightfully so. And I even got caught up in it, right? I mean, there's a famous video where I was chasing Senator Richard Pan down a hallway. And, you know, as you mature, you realize there's better ways to actually do this, that we don't want to be offensive anyway. We want to be invited into the room. And I just feel like this is showing in so many headlines that we're now seeing this huge. shift in this conversation because I think that we are starting to become clear that our position, you know, medical freedom, right to body autonomy, is the most reasonable position and the most American, you know, position you could possibly have. It literally is our right. And I feel like that

is starting to really penetrate in government agencies across the country. A thousand percent. And to your point, this just didn't happen overnight. Right. You know, we've been at this for many years. I've been building the relationships. The associations that even fight against us now are recognizing us as stakeholders. We are being invited into those meetings to have the conversations with them because they know the tide is turning here. And our elected officials are proudly standing with us. So you're saying even the lobbyists for pharma are now like addressing you and recognizing you have a seat at the table where they used to say, don't listen to those crazy people.

they're a bunch of emotional lunatics. I mean, honestly, that's where this started. It was just everyone was getting written off. Now they're addressing you differently, taking you seriously. They thought they were going to get an exception for medical providers on this bill. They fought tooth and nail to get that exception. And again, I just have to. So you're talking about like the nurses and doctors and hospitals saying you're working with patients.

They have to be, the hospital has to be allowed to force that group to take this vaccine. didn't even get that we want to carve out and our elected officials again they knew what they were getting themselves into we sat down before this session even started and we openly discussed it and we made the decision there would be no carve outs and every single day i want to give a shout out to dr tom oliverson stephanie click a representative in the house a registered nurse who fought tooth and nail to make sure that we had the strongest bill to protect All Texans, including those on the front lines in our hospitals, our nurses, our students, our doctors, they are protected and is because our elected officials stood strong. The advocates here in the state of Texas, we played the long game.

We were calm. We were reasonable. We got in. We had the meetings. We took the wins everywhere we could get it. And we slowly built up until this moment. This bill carries a 50,000. dollar administrative fee a fine if you try to implement a COVID vaccine.

This is a hefty fan. Fine. This is five times greater than Florida's bill. And I just point that out to say that if you hang in there, if you do the work, if you continue to advocate, yeah, we finally have a seat at the table. We are finally getting medical freedom in the place that it should be. I'm so proud and I'm so grateful for the many Texans and the many people who have moved here out of state and who understand this issue's not going away. This isn't one bill.

This isn't one legislative session. You need an organization. You need an advocate who takes these issues and gets in there and does the work and sees this policy to the finish line. And we're going to come back and do it again in another year. Amazing. Jackie Schlegel, Texas for medical freedom. Let me touch it just one more time. Seriously, congratulations.

It's such an amazing achievement. Really a representation to everyone around the country that, you know, how important this work is, people need to get involved with their local chapters or local groups, you know, dealing medical freedom, get to the Capitol. All of these parents have been visiting and visiting with representatives. It is really turning the tide. And it really couldn't happen, you know, a moment too soon. This is our win. This is our win for everybody in the entire country, not just the state of Texas.

And I want, you know, individuals to feel compelled to advocate, to follow our work and get inspired and do something in your state because we can do it. We can get it done. Fantastic. Great work. So proud of you, Jackie. Thank you.