CHD Sues American Academy of Pediatrics for Misleading Families on Vaccine Safety
Children’s Health Defense (CHD) and five other plaintiffs have filed a federal lawsuit accusing the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) of running a decades-long scheme to mislead families about the safety of the childhood vaccine schedule.
The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges that the AAP violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) by making “false and fraudulent” claims about the safety of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) childhood immunization schedule — while receiving funding from vaccine corps and providing financial incentives to pediatricians with high vaccination rates.
Key Claims in the Lawsuit
• AAP promoted false vaccine safety assurances
• Financial ties to vaccine manufacturers influenced AAP policy and messaging
• Pediatricians were incentivized to maintain high vaccination rates
• No comprehensive studies compare vaccinated vs. unvaccinated children
• Safety concerns were suppressed
• Doctors who questioned guidelines were punished
• Children suffered serious injuries and deaths after routine vaccinations
Plaintiffs in the Lawsuit
The case was filed by:
• Children’s Health Defense
• Dr. Paul Thomas, pediatrician
• Dr. Kenneth Stoller, former physician
• Andrea Shaw, mother of deceased twins
• Shanticia Nelson, mother of a deceased infant
• Jane Doe, parent of a vaccine-injured teenager
What CHD Leaders Say
Mary Holland, CEO of Children’s Health Defense:
“For decades, the AAP has been presented to parents as an objective, science-based voice on children’s health. In reality, it has operated as part of a system that puts profits over children’s health, while dismissing legitimate safety concerns and shutting down meaningful scientific inquiry.”
Rick Jaffe, attorney for the plaintiffs:
“This case follows the same pattern used to expose Big Tobacco — misleading the public, suppressing inconvenient research, and using the appearance of science to block real scientific investigation. The goal was not transparency, but control of the narrative.”
“Foundational Fraud” Behind Safety Claims
The lawsuit challenges a 2002 article by Dr. Paul Offit claiming infants could safely receive 10,000 vaccines at once — a theoretical statement never backed by real-world safety studies. The AAP used this claim in its influential Red Book, shaping pediatric care across the U.S.
Doctors Punished for Speaking Out
Two physicians who questioned AAP vaccine guidelines and supported medical exemptions — Dr. Paul Thomas and Dr. Kenneth Stoller — lost their medical licenses after challenging the prevailing narrative on childhood vaccination. Their professional discipline, the lawsuit argues, reflects how doctors who raise concerns about vaccine safety are marginalized rather than supported.
Families Describe Tragic Outcomes
Parents involved in the lawsuit report that their children suffered seizures, encephalitis, cardiac arrest, severe allergic reactions, long-term injury, and death following routine vaccinations. In each case, doctors relied on AAP guidance that dismissed known risk factors such as illness at the time of vaccination or a family history of adverse reactions.
Why This Matters in Canada
Canadian health authorities often rely on U.S. medical guidance and maintain similar relationships with pharmaceutical companies. Yet, as in the U.S., no large-scale, long-term safety studies have compared the overall health outcomes of fully vaccinated versus unvaccinated children.
The Canadian Paediatric Society (CPS) repeats many of the same talking points used by the American Academy of Pediatrics — offering broad assurances about vaccine safety while minimizing risks, discouraging individualized medical decision-making, and dismissing legitimate parental concerns.
Like the AAP, the CPS presents itself as an independent, science-based authority. In practice, its policy positions closely align with government and pharmaceutical industry priorities, raising serious questions about transparency, conflicts of interest, and whether children’s health or corporate interests are being protected.
With the AAP now facing legal action in the United States, the CPS should consider itself on notice. Canadian parents are increasingly demanding accountability, transparency, honest science and informed consent — not institutional messaging that shuts down discussion or prioritizes industry interests.
Click the image for the full report from The Defender
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