Session of 2021
House Concurrent Resolution No. 5017
By Committee on Federal and State Affairs
3-16

1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION supporting the adoption of the
2 COVID-19 Vaccine Bill of Rights for the purposes of defending the
3 constitutional liberties of Kansas citizens and outlining a framework
4 of best practices for state and federal agencies to develop during this
5 evolving phase of experimental vaccine administration.
6
7 WHEREAS, The Founding Fathers deemed that a Bill of Rights was
8 necessary to guard an individual's liberty against encroachments from
9 state and federal actions, both public and private; and
10 WHEREAS, The 14th Amendment of the Constitution of the United
11 States explicitly directs states not to "deprive any person of life, liberty,
12 or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its
13 jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws"; and
14 WHEREAS, No COVID-19 vaccine has been officially approved by
15 the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but the vaccines are sanctioned
16 by the FDA for distribution under an emergency use authorization; and
17 WHEREAS, Emergency use products are specifically prohibited by
18 federal law, 21 U.S.C. § 360bbb-3, from being mandated: "Authorization
19 for medical products for use in emergencies... require… the option to
20 accept or refuse administration of the product"; and
21 WHEREAS, The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
22 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices affirmed in August 2020
23 that under an emergency use authorization, experimental vaccines shall
24 not be mandatory; and
25 WHEREAS, Universally accepted codes of medical ethics, including
26 the Nuremberg Code and the Declaration of Helsinki, absolutely prohibit
27 any form of coercion to make individuals participate in a medical
28 experiment; and
29 WHEREAS, According to the Pew Research Center, approximately
30 40% of respondents reported that they would opt out of taking
31 experimental COVID-19 vaccines; and
32 WHEREAS, It is neither feasible nor safe to mandate experimental
33 vaccination considering the large number of patients in the general
34 population who have recovered from COVID-19 and in light of the fact
35 that FDA, Pfizer and Moderna protocols treat patients who have
36 recovered from COVID-19 differently; and
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1 WHEREAS, Public and private entities are considering mandating
2 experimental vaccinations so citizens may enjoy participating in certain
3 public activities and functions of daily American life, including
4 employment, in-person school attendance, public transportation and
5 concert performances; and
6 WHEREAS, "Vaccine passports," "digital health IDs" and such other
7 required documentations pose substantial risks to personal privacy and
8 equal treatment before the law for all Kansans and United States citizens;
9 and
10 WHEREAS, According to guidelines established by the CDC's
11 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, administration of
12 experimental COVID-19 vaccines does not provide adequate protections
13 for average Americans who are rightly concerned about potential health
14 hazards associated with the inoculations; and
15 WHEREAS, The public is entitled to receive from their public health
16 officials unbiased, transparent and easily accessible medical information
17 related to all vaccines; and
18 WHEREAS, The emergency powers assumed by the chief executives
19 of certain states, as well as municipal leaders, violated certain unalienable
20 rights guaranteed under the Constitution of the United States and the Bill
21 of Rights and, therefore, deserve redress; and
22 WHEREAS, While these legitimate grievances are pursued by the
23 courts of various states, state lawmakers must enshrine certain rights
24 against encroachment by decrees that are not medically or scientifically
25 indicated, such as vaccine mandates, in order to ensure the continuity of
26 our unalienable rights; and
27 WHEREAS, A COVID-19 Vaccine Bill of Rights, memorialized by
28 this resolution to address COVID-19 vaccine mandates, provides an
29 example for adoption by legislative bodies across the United States, for
30 recognition and upholding by all state attorney generals; and
31 WHEREAS, The major principles of the COVID-19 Vaccine Bill of
32 Rights shall include a minimum of four of the following six provisions:
33 1. No person shall be mandated, coerced, forced or pressured to take an
34 experimental or "investigational" medication.
35 2. No physician or nurse shall be asked by an employer to promote a
36 COVID-19 vaccine.
37 3. All persons shall determine what is in their own best medical interests
38 without threat to their livelihood or freedom of movement at all
39 times.
40 4. All persons shall be given access to independent information that will
41 help them determine what is in their own best medical interests. This
42 shall include information regarding the risk of death from contracting
43 COVID-19 alone, based on age or medical condition. This
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1 information shall be from independent sources that bear no conflict
2 of interest, unlike pharmaceutical companies and governmental or
3 quasi-governmental institutions, which have inherent conflicts of
4 interest. Such information shall be included but shall not be the sole
5 source of information.
6 5. Frail and elderly persons shall be entitled to a knowledgeable,
7 independent advocate with medical training to help them determine
8 such person's own best medical interests.
9 6. Private businesses operating within their jurisdictions shall not
10 require any person to take medication or experimental medication;
11 and
12 WHEREAS, The technical guidance for employers released by the
13 U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission in December 2020
14 should not be construed in a way by employers that would undermine an
15 employee's constitutional rights; and
16 WHEREAS, State legislative bodies must practice oversight of federal
17 assistance, consistent with their powers; and
18 WHEREAS, Once the COVID-19 Bill of Rights is adopted, out-of-
19 state commercial vendors, including Ticketmaster, would not require
20 venue operators and organizers to mandate the presentation of proof of
21 vaccination from concertgoers and other paying customers before freely
22 entering a venue on private or public property; and
23 WHEREAS, Once the COVID-19 Bill of Rights is adopted,
24 vaccinations for K-12 students and teachers would not be required
25 without applying certain clear and consistent exemptions, among them
26 medical and conscience clauses, otherwise, a board of education shall run
27 the risk of forfeiting its authority for such a mandate. Notwithstanding a
28 board of education's mandate to vaccinate their populations, legislators
29 shall not consider it a factor in K-12 education funding; and
30 WHEREAS, Once the COVID-19 Bill of Rights is adopted, interstate
31 carriers such as airlines and all forms of public transit calling for so-
32 called "vaccine passports," as a condition of entry, would not be allowed
33 to operate with state licensure and waivers. Furthermore, the Kansas
34 legislature calls on federal entities such as the Federal Aviation
35 Administration to issue new rules that shall prohibit COVID-19 vaccine
36 mandates for all carrier crews and customers: Now, therefore,
37 Be it resolved by the House of Representatives of the State of Kansas,
38 the Senate concurring therein: That the Kansas legislature memorializes
39 the COVID-19 Vaccine Bill of Rights for the purposes of defending the
40 constitutional liberties of Kansas citizens and outlining a framework of
41 best practices for state and federal agencies to develop during this
42 evolving phase of experimental vaccine administration; and
43 Be it further resolved: That the Secretary of State shall send enrolled
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1 copies of this resolution to to the President of the United States, the
2 Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, the Majority
3 Leader of the United States Senate, the Federal Aviation Administration
4 Administrator, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the
5 U.S. Secretary of Labor and the U.S. Justice Department's Civil Rights
6 Division.