For more than a decade, PCIC has advocated for medical freedom. Since March of 2020, the topic of medical freedom and informed consent is on the forefront of more people’s minds. While the divide between people’s opinions does feel larger, events in the last 5 to 6 years have made it easier to discuss medical freedom with legislators, friends & family, and community members. With the inception of the Make America Healthy Again movement during the 2024 presidential campaign, issues surrounding medical freedom and informed consent came back into the national dialogue on an even bigger stage than many of us ever imagined possible. It has been amazing to see these events unfold.
PCIC was started in 2015 to protect informed consent when exemptions were being threatened on a large scale. While our focus was never exclusively on vaccines, that is typically where we focused our time and energy with legislation and education. Now, in 2026, PCIC’s leadership team felt the need to expand our mission statement to include more issues, such as data privacy, food, soil, water, and air. These issues are still linked to the idea of informed consent. The core of why PCIC exists is still the same, but we have shifted to include more issues that are related and connected, as these issues have also come to the forefront. We will continue to educate others about these issues– including our legislators– and watch legislation across these issues as it pertains to informed consent and medical freedom.
The mission of Pennsylvania Coalition for Informed Consent is to preserve the human right to informed consent and transparency in matters impacting our health — including medical procedures, data privacy, food, soil, water, and air while also holding Pennsylvania legislators accountable to their constitutional duty to safeguard individual freedoms.
Where We Are Today – PCIC continues to participate in a wide variety of activities which vary from year-to-year as different opportunities arise and are dependent upon volunteer resources. Much of our time and attention is focused on educating our state legislators and holding them accountable. This is done primarily through our presence on a monthly basis during session, and when the need arises, action alerts to call legislators. We have worked hard over the last several years to meet with legislators and make sure they know who PCIC is and why we advocate; in turn, we have become a resource to legislators. We have suggested bills to be introduced, helped to write language for amendments, coordinated experts for roundtables and hearings, and supported legislator’s efforts to move forward good bills that align with our mission– just to name a few.
Knowing how to start a conversation with your own legislator is often a barrier for people jumping in and getting involved, and rightfully so! It can be intimidating. With this in mind, volunteers developed a training to help advocates get started meeting with their own representative and senator. Look for more of these opportunities in 2026!
In Pennsylvania, a large constituency group is the Amish community. Since the early days of PCIC, we have worked with the Amish community by being a resource for information about medical freedom and informed consent. A committed PCIC volunteer helps by putting flyers up on community boards in the heart of Lancaster county where individuals are able to tear off a phone number so that they can call to request a packet of information mailed to them. We also have a table each year at Family Days on the Farm, a Lancaster county event focused on health and wellness and regenerative farming practices in the Plain community.
Partnering with other like-minded organizations makes the work that we do in PA possible. Members of our leadership team participate in monthly calls with national organizations like Stand for Health Freedom, The Right To Refuse, and MAHA Institute. We are also still partnered with NVIC, too. Over the last few years, we have also partnered with our friends at Parental Rights and CHAP. As different events come up throughout the year, we participate with our tabling materials in order to reach out to the local community and provide education about the topics near and dear to our heart and mission.
PCIC’s Most Valuable Resource: YOU!
PCIC is an entirely volunteer run, grassroots organization. From the volunteers devoting time on our leadership team, to those helping with social media and writing, to those who show up at the Capitol in Harrisburg each month, to each of YOU! Yes! You! Each person taking the time to read our emails, comment on social media posts, share our content, or make phone calls to legislators plays a role in the tapestry that makes PCIC so unique and powerful. We are not paid lobbyists; we are passionate moms, dads, brothers, sisters, and friends who are driven by their own personal stories to educate! Friends, never underestimate the power of a conversation. Sometimes the results of those conversations are positive,while some of them don’t go as planned, and finally sometimes seeds are planted that will sprout and grow down the road. Never hesitate to point people toward the resources that we offer, too.
Looking Ahead – The future is bright even though the day-to-day noise might be deafening. Be encouraged, friend! We are going to continue to have conversations this year with people around PA about the importance of all issues related to our mission. We will continue to show up at the Capitol and work with legislators to protect our rights here in PA.
To do this work, we need your help! Do you want to get involved? We are always looking for more helping hands to read bills; write content for our blog, emails, and social media; help create content for us to post on social media; assist with website refresh and design; call/email offices to set up appointments with legislators; help write copy for flyers and the website.