Frequently Asked Questions
What is Physicians for Informed Consent (PIC) and what does it do?
Physicians for Informed Consent is a 501 (c)(3) nonprofit organization focused on science and statistics. PIC delivers data on infectious diseases and vaccines, and unites doctors, scientists, healthcare professionals, attorneys, and families that support voluntary vaccination.
What is informed consent, and how do mandatory vaccination laws violate this human right?
Informed consent involves the basic human right to consent or refuse a medical treatment or procedure, including vaccination. The consent must be voluntary. If a patient, or parent of a patient, is coerced or threatened in any way into consenting for vaccination (including statutory or government mandated exclusion from school or employment), then the “consent” obtained is actually coerced consent, not informed consent.
May a medical exemption to vaccination be written on the basis of informed consent?
Not according to several recent authorities. The obfuscation of informed consent is what has brought us together. In California, since 2019, a medical exemption for school attendance may only be granted on the basis of limited medical circumstances (“…the physical condition of the child is such, or medical circumstances relating to the child are such, that immunization is not considered safe….The department shall identify those medical exemption forms that do not meet applicable CDC, ACIP, or AAP criteria for appropriate medical exemptions.”). Cal. Health & Safety Code sections 120370 and 120372(d)(3)(A). In several states, medical exemptions are expressly restricted to narrow contraindications, regardless of the history of vaccine adverse events in the patient or patient’s family.
Prior to 2015, the right of informed consent/informed refusal was respected in California schools because parents were able to use personal belief or religious exemption forms to opt out of one or more vaccines for their children—so medical exemptions weren’t necessary and the question of whether or not medical exemptions could be written on the basis of informed consent did not come up, because parents didn’t need doctors to help them protect their children.
Constitutional law (United States Constitution, 5th Amendment, Due Process of Law) upholds the right of informed consent, but statutory law in certain States (such as California) appears to currently penalize citizens for exercising this right.
Does Physicians for Informed Consent recommend or endorse any specific vaccination schedule?
No. Physicians for Informed Consent does not recommend or endorse any specific vaccination schedule. Furthermore, we do not provide any personal medical advice.
Is Physicians for Informed Consent an anti-vaccine organization?
No. We view vaccines as pharmaceutical drugs and/or medicines, and we respect everyone’s right to the informed consent (or informed refusal) of drugs and/or medicines. Therefore, this organization is not ideologically pro-vaccine or anti-vaccine, but rather is pro-health, pro-ethics, and pro-informed consent in vaccination (like any other medical procedure).
Will Physicians for Informed Consent be disclosing the names of its members?
No. We respect privacy and confidentiality. Our membership list is confidential. For more information, please view our Privacy Policy.
How do MDs and DOs find colleagues who can help them learn how to identify medical conditions for which a patient could obtain a medical exemption to vaccination?
We do not endorse particular physicians. However, we encourage you to become an MD/DO member and gain access to our members-only forum and speaker seminars. Also, our events and meetings would be a good place to engage with other professionals who are knowledgeable in identifying patients who are more at risk for vaccine adverse events.
Reading our educational documents and becoming a Physicians for Informed Consent member are great ways to educate yourself, protect your patients, and advocate for informed consent.