Jackie Schlegel, Founder

Meet Jackie

Taking a Stand for Medical Freedom

Jackie Schlegel is a mother of three young adults, including one with profound developmental disabilities and complex medical needs. Using her own experiences navigating complicated medical institutions and bureaucratic agencies , Jackie began to mentor other parents facing similar circumstances.

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With the knowledge and experiences gained through an extensive history of advocating for families like hers, Jackie founded and served as the Director of Communications for Connections Kids, a magazine that served as a resource guide to the families of special needs children. In 2015, modeling legislation passed in California, a Texas legislator filed a vaccine mandate bill that would have stripped parents of their right to informed consent when choosing what vaccines their children would receive. In response, Jackie threw her hat into the political arena. Thanks to her well-established reputation within the complex care community, Jackie was able to quickly organize other passionate parents to become effective advocates for vaccine freedom of choice in the state legislature.

Under Jackie’s leadership, the group successfully defeated the vaccine mandate bill along with fifteen other bills filed that legislative session that would have infringed on Texans’ right to informed consent, medical privacy, and vaccine freedom of choice. Over the last eight years, Jackie has become the state’s most influential advocate for medical freedom, building coalitions among legislators and stakeholders to advance sound policies that protect the rights of parents, patients, and professionals alike. In 2021, as a direct result of Jackie working diligently alongside legislators at all levels of our state government, a revolutionary bi-partisan medical protection bill was passed unanimously through both the Texas House and Senate and a ban on vaccine passports was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott.

Jackie has become a highly sought-after public speaker as she educates individuals from all walks of life on their medical rights. Her endless energy and tenacity inspire others to take charge of their health care and to effectively advocate for themselves and for the cause of medical freedom. Thanks to Jackie’s unwavering resolve and commitment, the medical freedom community has gained respect and notoriety and Texans for Medical Freedom has expanded its influence across the state. She continues to empower individuals in their personal, professional, and political lives to ensure that the foundational right of medical freedom is preserved for future generations.