Takeaways from AP’s investigation on anti-science legislation in US statehouses

A wave of anti-science bills has been introduced in statehouses across America this year, pushed by people with special interests who have close ties to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

A wave of anti-science bills has been introduced in statehouses across America this year, pushed by people with special interests who have close ties to Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

An Associated Press investigation found more than 420 bills attacking longstanding public health protections such as vaccines, milk safety and fluoride in most states. More than two dozen have already been enacted or adopted.

They are part of an organized, politically savvy effort that normalizes ideas fueled by the anti-vaccine movement that Kennedy has helped lead for years. His Make America Healthy Again agenda masks anti-science ideas while promoting goals such as making food more natural or reducing chemicals. Meanwhile, vaccination rates continue to fall, allowing the infectious diseases measles and whooping cough to make comebacks as Kennedy has sought to broadly remake federal policies on public health matters including fluoride and vaccines.

Kennedy’s allies dispute that their agenda is anti-science or driven by conspiracy theories, but many experts disagree.

Here are some key takeaways from AP’s investigation.

Hundreds of anti-science bills were introduced

The AP focused on three public health policies – vaccines, fluoridation of water and milk safety – which have clear medical evidence behind them yet are targets of the MAHA movement.

AP searched 2025 legislation in all 50 states, analyzing bills collected by the National Conference of State Legislatures and the bill-tracking software Plural for whether they undermined science-based protections for human health.