SUBITTED BY MARK GIETSEN
The committee hearing for HB 2372 was held on February 19th.
1. The House Health and Human Services Committee Hearing in Topeka on February 19thwent very well.
Here, FAN (Fluoride Action Network) Special Projects Director, Attorney Michael Connett, speaks to the Committee about the many studies that show a connection between fluoride and lowered I.Q.
Shown left-to-right, the Fluoride Fighting Team consisted of Dr. Charles Hinshaw of Wichita KS,Director of the Bio-Center Lab at the Riordan Clinic and President of the Kansas Society of Pathologists;Attorney Michael Connettof Philadelphia, PA, the Fluoride Action Network Special Projects Dir.; Dr. Yolanda Whyte, an Atlanta, GA Pediatrician with expertise in environmental health, and KRA President, Mark Gietzen
2. The pro-fluoride opposing side was well organized, well prepared, and presented a spirited resistance. Passing HB-2372 will NOT be easy! WE NEED YOUR HELP!
3. The pro-fluoride opposition speakers were:
a. Dr. Lucynda Raben, DDS, of Wichita. In 2012, Dr. Raben tried hard to make Wichita a fluoridated community. She used the same old stump-speech in Topeka that she used in Wichita during the Referendum battle in 2012.
b. Dr. John Neuberger, PhD; a Professor at the University of Kansas School of Medicine and leader of the Kansas Public Health Association.
c. Greg Hill, an Assistant Executive Director of the Kansas Dental Association.
d. Brian Smith, Board President, Oral Health Kansas, and,
e. Christie Appelhanz, representing the Kansas Action for Children.
4. While our side focused on the modern science and fluoride facts, those who testified in opposition proceeded as if HB-2372 was a bill designed to harm children and to destroy the dental profession.
5. After the presentations, there were numerous questions from the floor, and it became obvious that this will be a split vote. Some of the questions from legislators were quite harsh in tone, particularly those questions which were directed to Attorney Michael Connett and to Dr. Yolanda Whyte.
6. Dr. Yolanda Whyte is still in Topeka today, and is attempting to meet with and talk to each of the 17 members of the House HHS Committee before leaving.
7. We owe a huge THANK YOU to Attorney Michael Connett, Dr. Yolanda Whyte and to Dr. Charles Hinshaw for the great work that they did, and are doing for passage of this bill.
8. A huge THANKS also, to all who have already donated money to make this progress possible.
9. We estimate that we will need about $25,000 to get this bill through the Kansas House of Representatives. We have raised only about 12% of that so far.
