SANTA FE — Children’s Health Defense, an organization founded by U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has filed a federal racketeering lawsuit against the American Academy of Pediatrics, escalating a national legal and political fight over vaccine guidance that has taken on heightened relevance in New Mexico.
The lawsuit, filed this week, accuses the AAP and others of engaging in fraudulent messaging and deceptive conduct related to childhood vaccine safety claims, using the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly known as RICO. Children’s Health Defense said the suit challenges what it described as a coordinated effort to promote vaccine safety claims through pediatricians and public-facing materials.
The filing comes as New Mexico and other Democratic-led states move to preserve broader vaccine recommendations after the federal government scaled back routine immunization guidance for certain childhood vaccines earlier this month. The New Mexico Department of Health announced January 7 that it would maintain full vaccine recommendations despite the HHS rollback, encouraging families to consult their providers and rely on the AAP immunization schedule as a guide.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said the state would not follow the changes coming from Washington.
“New Mexico will not follow the federal government in walking away from decades of proven public health practice,” Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “Our recommendations remain unchanged.”
In a separate public post related to the national rollback, the governor said state officials would continue recommending the full childhood schedule, emphasizing what she described as access to “the best possible protection” against serious illness.
The New Mexico Legislature and governor recently enacted changes that reduce the state’s formal reliance on the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, as the core reference point for vaccine policy, while leaving room for alternative sources such as AAP guidance and the state health department. Public health policy groups have described New Mexico as part of a growing national trend among states to “decouple” vaccine policy from federal recommendations.
The CHD lawsuit lands amid a broader swirl of litigation over vaccine policy changes under Kennedy, who has long criticized aspects of U.S. vaccination policy. In a separate case filed by major medical groups including the AAP, plaintiffs have challenged federal changes reducing the number of routinely recommended childhood vaccinations, alleging the shift was unlawful and could discourage immunization. A federal hearing in that case is scheduled in February.
The CHD suit seeks damages and other relief, arguing the AAP’s messaging has been used to persuade parents into vaccination decisions and to marginalize dissenting views.
The legal dispute sets up a stark political contrast: while New Mexico leaders are leaning more heavily on pediatric guidance from the AAP to maintain current immunization recommendations, a prominent national group is accusing the AAP of organized fraud.
