Back in 2020, Dr. Scott Harris used his authority as Alabama’s State Health Officer to shut down Alabama’s public beaches, senior citizen centers and schools. Forbidding restaurants from serving meals on-site, he also banned gatherings of 25 or more people. Oh, and he closed churches and other places of worship.
Harris isn’t even an elected official. He was appointed by Gov. Kay Ivey, the same governor who blamed “the unvaccinated” for the Covid virus.
Raise your hand if someone vilified you for being hesitant to get the Covid vaccine. Heaven forbid you got sick and were one of the unvaccinated lepers! Then folks were really talking about you. It was a divisive time. No one should ever be forced to take a vaccine. Yet college kids couldn’t attend universities, doctors and nurses couldn’t continue working at hospitals and doctors’ offices, and educators were often chastised if they declined to get vaccinated.
The Right to Refuse Act (HB12), sponsored by State Rep. Ernie Yarbrough (R-Trinity), protects medical freedom and the right to refuse vaccines, medical treatments, and face coverings without medical coercion or prejudice. According to 1819 News, Yarbrough filed the bill late in the 2025 session, but it never made it to the floor. He pre-filed this same piece of legislation for lawmakers to debate and vote on this year, and HB12 is now assigned to the House Judiciary Committee.
My family experienced medical prejudice way back in 2010 when our youngest son was at a local hospital receiving fluids after a virus. We were spreading his vaccines out because we didn’t like the idea of him having more than 50 vaccines between birth and two years of age. A female pediatrician began extensively questioning why he was behind on his vaccines and read us the riot act for “ignorantly” spreading them out. I listened patiently – mainly because I was exhausted and intimidated. Was she an extremist? Would she call Child Protective Services on us because we had slowed his vaccination rate? We weren’t anti-vaxxers. We just wanted to be careful about what was going into his body. She thought that was unreasonable.
HB12, if passed into law, would make intimidations like hers illegal. It would also provide legal avenues for families like us who believe they have faced discrimination to seek legal recourse.
According to a 2025 AL Politics article, Stephanie Durnin, Director of Health Freedom Alabama, strongly supports this bill. "To this day, Alabamians remain vulnerable," she said, noting that this bill would act as a shield – the kind of shield needed since Ivey turned on the unvaccinated during Covid in 2021.
It’s a special year in Montgomery. Every state lawmaker is up for re-election, meaning they’re more malleable than ever. It’s sad that it takes an election year for our voices to truly be heard, but that’s usually the way it works. For this bill to progress, it must make it out of the House Health Committee, chaired by State Rep. Paul Lee (R-Dothan). After that, Lee and State Rep. Nathaniel Ledbetter (R-Rainsville) must provide adequate support for the bill so it receives a full hearing.
Why is this so crucial? Covid showed us many things. We parents were able to see what our kids were really being taught at school, and we all started monitoring our kids’ Chrome books. I literally re-taught history in 2020 in our house at the Landers Academy of Mediocre Education (LAME).
Unfortunately, Covid also showed us that some government officials like to choose who can participate in society. During Covid, the vaccinated were the fair-haired children and the unvaccinated the pariahs.
According to Yarbrough, HB12 promises that in the future, during the next pandemic that Bill Gates has prophesied, vaccines will not be used to hire or fire people in Alabama. Passage of HB12 ensures the medical freedom that people need to make decisions for their own bodies without societal retribution for refusing to follow the herd.
Now is the time to call and remind our up-for-reelection representatives who they’re supposed to serve and what bills they need to prioritize. Flex your leverage to persuade during this election year. Fear of losing their base voters may be our best hope for codifying medical autonomy in Alabama.
Kristin Landers is a substitute teacher and freelance writer. Landers’ previous work includes serving as Communications Director for the Alabama Policy Institute and working for Citizens Against a Legalized Lottery (CALL) to defeat legalized gambling in the state of Alabama.
The views and opinions expressed here are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of 1819 News. To comment, please send an email with your name and contact information to [email protected].
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