“With the passage of the Idaho Medical Freedom Act, the state has taken a bold stance to ensure that no Idahoan will ever again be compelled to undergo unwanted medical interventions as a condition of employment, education, or daily life.”
~ Health Freedom Defense Fund
Less than a year ago, we celebrated Leslie Manookian as our Hero of the Week, calling attention to her pioneering work as president and founder of the Health Freedom Defense Fund (HFDF). Among numerous other achievements, HFDF led the successful legal battle that overturned the federal travel mask mandate in 2022.
We now applaud Manookian and her “health freedom sisters” in Idaho, Miste Karlfeldt and Sarah Clendenon, for spearheading the Idaho Medical Freedom Act, which Governor Brad Little signed into law on April 4 after having vetoed a prior version the week before. Manookian wrote the original legislation, and the trio—who spent a decade of their lives trying to get it passed—was involved in every “up and down” of the dramatic minute-by-minute events that ultimately led to the bill’s successful passage.
In an emotional 11-minute video recorded by the three women to announce the victory, Manookian jubilantly summed up the first-in-the-nation implications:
“It is literally landmark, it is changing everything! It is more than what we started with; it is better than what we started with.”
The comment about the amended bill being a “better” version refers to the last-minute addition of language that Karlfeldt described as a “bonus gift”—a provision that makes it impossible for Idaho schools and day care centers to exclude healthy children for being unvaccinated.
Manookian made sure to give ample credit to the legislators who stood with the activists “until the bitter end,” including cosponsor and first-term Rep. Robert Beiswenger as well as Rep. Josh Tanner, familiar to Solari subscribers as one of the five legislators who participated in Solari’s 2024 Idaho backcasting titled “Idaho 2030: A Vision of Freedom.”
In addition, the three women noted that their years of work “building an army” made a major difference, with legislators and the governor experiencing massive public pressure to pass the bill. Karlfeldt’s heartfelt thanks illustrate the difference that citizens can make when they roll up their sleeves to contact and develop relationships with their state leaders:
“Everybody out there, you did it. You own this bill with us because you did it—all the calls, all the emails, all the support, and all the prayers most of all—because we felt those prayers.”
Karlfeldt also congratulated Manookian for her persistence and faith:
“Kudos to you, my friend. You were the one that believed and had faith in this bill that you wrote, that we could get it across the finish line. And I will admit that I doubted—huge doubt! But I thought, ‘I’m just going to ride on the coattails of Leslie Manookian, her faith and belief that we can do this.’ And it was a great ride!”
Manookian’s definition of her personal philosophy is remarkably similar to Catherine’s belief in the power of “turtling”: “You just put one step in front of the other, and you just believe—and it will happen if that’s what you want to happen.”
Related:
Idaho Leads the Nation with Landmark Medical Freedom Legislation
Idaho’s Medical Freedom Act Becomes Law
Idaho Governor Signs Law Prohibiting Vaccine Mandates
Related at the Solari Report:
Storm Warnings: Get Prepared! (Leslie Manookian segment on Financial Rebellion)
Hero of the Week: June 24, 2024: Leslie Manookian
Idaho 2030: A Vision of Freedom
Working Successfully with State Leaders Who Will Take Responsibility
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