The medical freedom debate NJ can’t avoid anymore (Opinion)

As some states move to protect the rights of moms and dads to make decisions regarding the health and well-being of their children without bureaucratic interference, New Jersey stays behind.

Thirteen states in America have enacted bans on mandates to protect the medical freedom of employees and students.

Many states are also passing laws to protect doctors who prescribe alternatives to current vaccines, including ivermectin and hydroxychloroquine.

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How other states are expanding medical freedom laws

In Idaho, the State Legislature and Governor went further than other states in protecting your medical freedom from mandates in public and private businesses.

With a few exceptions, no one can force you to vaccinate or vaccinate your kids.

Informed consent and actual medical freedom are fully protected in the "Gem State," sometimes known as the potato state.

The moves by medical freedom advocates and leaders are the result of what we learned during covid where fear and panic led to crushing mandates, which have facilitated a wave of doubt and skepticism for the medical community.

Also fueling the skeptics and freedom lovers is the policy direction known as "Make America Healthy Again" (MAHA) led by the Trump Administration's Secretary of Health and Human Services, Robert Kennedy Jr.

The many accomplishments in the first year have redirected the focus for many people away from big pharma and onto healthy diets and activities.

Cleaning up the poisons on our food and water supply and taking a deep dive into the spike in autism, Kennedy has done all this while saving the taxpayers nearly $70 billion.

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MAHA movement, vaccine skepticism, and growing distrust in the medical establishment

This new medical freedom and get healthy movement is also taking a serious look at the adverse effects of some vaccines and addressing the very real issue of vaccine injuries.

Here's a pull quote from the president of the MAHA Institute, setting the tone for the challenge to "group think" in the medical establishment:

"Many people have a hard time believing that the medical establishment could have been so wrong. So allow me to start with a brief introduction to the rotten state of our health system."
-Mark Gorton, President MAHA Institute.

The following are quotes from doctors at the very top of the medical profession.

Marcia Angell was the editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine, the most prestigious medical journal in the U.S. She said:

“It’s simply no longer possible to believe much of the clinical research that is published, or to rely on the judgment of trusted physicians or authoritative medical guidelines. I take no pleasure in this conclusion, which I reached slowly and reluctantly over my two decades as an editor of the New England Journal of Medicine.”

Richard Horton was the editor-in-chief of The Lancet, the most prestigious medical journal in the world. He said:

“Much of the scientific literature, perhaps half, may simply be untrue.”

So, with a healthy dose of skepticism about current vaccine schedules, especially for kids, we were joined by a pediatrician who has been practicing in Essex and Morris counties for the past three decades.

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NJ pediatrician urges informed consent and personalized vaccine decisions

Dr. Rosario Zambrano is the owner and president of Pediatrics of Morristown and Essex Pediatrics.

She's got a degree from Cornell University and her medical degree from Rutgers University. She has been Pediatrics Board Certified since 1995.

Dr. Zambrano is also a clinical associate professor for the Rutgers Physician Assistant Program and a school physician through the Orange School System.

She offered a lot of insight and ideas for parents and how they can navigate their relationship with their own pediatrician.

She's not anti-vax; she's pro-informed consent. Her advice for parents was to make sure that they are honest with their doctors about the real reasons they do not want their kids to get vaccinated.

She also advised pushing for separate vaccines so that in case of an adverse effect, the source can be isolated. She also believes in spacing out any vaccines that you want your kids to receive.

Again, common sense.

But one takeaway for me, which is why she's the kind of doc we need more of, she was perfectly respectful and fine to treat kids who chose not to receive any vaccinations.

Listen to our conversations here:

And find out more about Dr. Rosaria Zambrano here.

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What parents should ask at well visits about vaccines and consent

As a parent preparing for a "well visit" for your child, be mindful that over time, these visits have evolved into a structured schedule that includes developmental monitoring, guidance, and vaccinations.

Vaccines are widely presented as preventive tools designed to protect children from infectious disease.

For many families, this framing goes unquestioned.

Important questions about how medical decisions are made, how risks are communicated, and whether parents are being given the time and information needed are critical in order to achieve "informed consent."

In today’s health care environment, those conversations can feel rushed. Time with providers is often limited, and recommendations are delivered within a system shaped by standardized schedules and insurance frameworks.

In that setting, parents may feel pressure to comply rather than space to reflect.

The bottom line is that informed consent is not a formality; it is a process.

And it begins with asking the right questions.