[UPDATE 7/6/26] Last week, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals surprised court watchers by ruling against Amish plaintiff Miller in a vaccine religious exemption case. It’s likely the case will be appealed to the Supreme Court where a win for the Amish would provide a consistent religious exemption to vaccination in every state, including California. Free Now attorney Dr. Richard Fox commented that the panel in the Second Circuit was more liberal, so the decision was not entirely unexpected. In contrast, the panel currently deliberating on the four religious exemption cases in the Ninth Circuit Court is composed of two judges appointed by Conservative administrations, and one appointed by a Liberal administration.

[ORIGINAL ARTICLE] It’s a myth that medical choice for California students is a lost cause.

While COVID shot mandates for adults and children were unpopular and ultimately defeated, thanks to groups like mine that filed lawsuits, California still mandates more than thirty doses of ten vaccines onto its K - 12 students.

No religious exemptions. A non-functioning medical exemption.

While it’s true that students with even one missing shot are barred from attending school in California— forcing families to homeschool or leave the state— the extreme situation here has also produced very strong plaintiffs in more than half a dozen cases.

These plaintiffs with egregious fact patterns have fueled lawsuits that create meaningful progress in the courts. We also just got a boost for parental rights from the White House.

Religious Exemption May Return to California in the Fall

Four religious exemption cases are currently pending before the Ninth Circuit. A favorable ruling in any of these cases—recognizing robust protections under both the First Amendment (Free Exercise Clause) and the Fourteenth Amendment (parental due process rights)—would restore the religious exemption from vaccination for California students.

A restored religious exemption would finally crack the mandate edifice!

But there is likely more hope in a religious exemption win— it would soften the legal landscape for the end of mandates. If the Ninth Circuit makes one of these religious exemption rulings on the basis of the Fourteenth Amendment, this would significantly strengthen Free Now Foundation’s head-on challenge to vaccine mandates and reinforce binding precedent across the circuit.

Supreme Court Affirmed Parental Authority to Direct Upbringing of Children

During my recent interview with Dr. Fox— the attorney-of-record in our due process case to end vaccine mandates for California students— he highlighted the Supreme Court’s strong rebuke of the Ninth Circuit in Mirabelli v. Bonta (2026), where the Court reaffirmed that parents—not the State—hold primary authority to direct the upbringing and education of their children under the Fourteenth Amendment. This principle directly bolsters our pending due process challenge in the Ninth Circuit.

Trump Affirmed Parental Authority as Well

In late May 2026, President Trump issued Executive Order 14407, which explicitly affirms parental authority and religious liberty in vaccination decisions and directs federal agencies to provide maximum flexibility to parents and doctors while upholding legal protections under the First and Fourteenth Amendments.

Although executive orders do not bind the courts, this action—combined with the Mirabelli decision—signals a shifting legal landscape. It can influence judicial reasoning, serve as persuasive authority in litigation, and gives renewed hope to parents in states like California with strict mandates, by strengthening arguments for exemptions, pressuring policymakers, and underscoring that compulsory medical interventions must yield to constitutional parental rights.

It’s Time to Double-down, Not Give Up!

The tide is clearly turning. With four religious exemption cases pending in the Ninth Circuit, the Supreme Court’s recent rebuke of restrictive policies in Mirabelli v. Bonta, and President Trump’s Executive Order 14407 explicitly affirming parental authority over vaccination decisions, families in California and across the country have genuine momentum on their side.

These developments send a clear message: parental rights are not relics of the past but living constitutional protections that courts are increasingly willing to enforce.

Parents should feel empowered rather than defeated — the path to ending draconian mandates is not only visible but growing stronger.

By staying engaged, supporting our strategic litigation, and holding policymakers accountable, families can help secure a future where parental authority is respected and medical freedom is restored for the next generation.

It’s time to double down, not give up.

FreedomRaiser 250 at 45% Participation! Help Us Reach 100% by Friday!

Will you be one of the 250 new donors who help Free Now Foundation sustain the legal battle for medical freedom against our deep-pocketed opponents? Any amount helps!

Join our FreedomRaiser 250 to re-gain medical freedom for California’s children by 2027, and set the template for other blue states!

YES, I'LL HELP DOUBLE DOWN

In 1996, Ms. Mayer was running a worldwide research group for Apple Inc., when she got 6 vaccines for a vacation and became disabled, brain damaged and lost her career. Now substantially recovered, she is Board Chair, President and co-founder of Free Now Foundation, the leading medical freedom law non-profit in California. A retired workaholic, Ms. Mayer loves advancing the cause of medical freedom through education and legal work.

She is host of weekly The Alix Mayer Show, focused on issues of medical freedom and health politics, interviewing thought leaders and elevating voices of the vaccine-injured. She delivers The California Medical Freedom Report at Liberty Forum of Silicon Valley, Standing Free, and at other regular speaking events.

Ms. Mayer is an in-demand speaker, and her lively presentations on 1/ The Legal Howdunnit of COVID, 2/ REAL ID: Weaponized Architecture; 3/ ABV: Anything But Vaccines; and 4/ The Measles Manipulation of RFK Jr. have earned her recognition and accolades. “I know women in VP positions who do not hold a candle to this woman’s sunlight,” stated a commenter on a recent interview with Mike Adams, “She gives me hope that humanity still lives.”

Ms. Mayer formerly served on the Children’s Health Defense (CHD) board, co-founded & served as Chairman of CHD’s most successful Chapter in California, helping raise in excess of $5M, and served on RFK Jr’s Presidential campaign finance committee, raising hundreds of thousands for the campaign.

In 2022, she won the Golden Bear Award and a presentation she gave to Dr. Mercola was named a “Best of” interview. Ms. Mayer grew up in the Oscar Mayer family, and has degrees from Duke (BA) and Northwestern (MBA.)