One of the most publicized figures of the pandemic era in Texas has introduced a bill aimed at manufacturers of harmful vaccines.
State Rep Shelley Luther (R-62) spoke to the House Committee on House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee in support of her proposed legislation, House Bill 3441.
Luther said that she was not anti-vax and that both of her children were fully vaccinated. However, “the system we have today is the result of our decision to test a thesis made in 1986, when we passed the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act, and the thesis was ultimately that we could improve health outcomes by eliminating accountability for those outcomes. What a thesis.”
Luther went on to say that the current system incentivizes speed over safety, noting that the COVID-19 vaccine’s development happened so quickly that “we didn’t have a set list of defined injuries for which our injury compensation could compensate individuals.”
Got to lay out my first bill, HB 3441, in front of the Judiciary and Civil Jurisprudence Committee! This bill would require vaccine manufacturers who advertise in Texas to be held liable for damages they cause to an individual.
Thank you to @TXforVaxChoice, @TXforMedFreedom, and… pic.twitter.com/qp2EPdCUDU— Shelley Luther (@ShelleyLuther) April 2, 2025
She warned that trust in the medical profession is at an all-time low, and unless corrective measures are taken now, people will not trust future vaccines, even if they are safe and effective when the next pandemic strikes.
“To the vaccine manufacturers, if you believe that your vaccine is safe as advertised, I challenge you to put your money where your mouth is,” she said near the end of her testimony. Luther said the bill had the bipartisan backing of sixty co-authors and three joint authors.
The text of the bill amends the Health and Safety Code to say, “A [vaccine] manufacturer is liable to an individual if (1) the manufacturer advertises a vaccine in this state; and (2) the vaccine causes harm or injury to the individual.”
The law would allow a court to grant injured parties actual damages, court costs, and reasonable attorney’s fees incurred in bringing the action.
The bill’s fiscal note stated, “No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.”
During questioning, Chairman Jeff Leach (R-McKinney) asked Luther whether there could be a conflict between state and federal power when regulating a company’s actions based on where they advertise. Luther said that she had spoken to officials at the FTC and FCC, and they agreed there are ways for vaccine manufacturers to advertise their products without the advertisements making it to the Texas market if the manufacturers did not want to incur the risk of liability under the law.
Both Leach and Luther expressed surprise that no representatives from the major vaccine manufacturers appeared to testify before the committee.
Representative Lulu Flores (D-Austin) asked if the bill would open manufacturers to liability for injuries from the distant past. Luther said it only affects injuries after September 1, 2025.
Luther later appeared to signal that an amendment may be added to the bill to clarify that the law would define “advertisement” as television, print, social media, etc., and would not include pamphlets doctors may choose to give to patients that show a variety of treatments available for certain conditions. She also reiterated that the law would not apply to doctors who administered vaccines.
Luther sprang to national attention during the early days of lockdown in Texas in spring 2020 when she defied COVID policy by reopening her salon. She was subsequently jailed for several days and was liberated on a legal technicality by the Texas Supreme Court. In November 2024, she was elected to the Texas House of Representatives.