She’s a doctor, an anti-vaxxer, and, according to Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), a “conspiracy theorist” who is trying to “spread myths and falsehoods about Covid vaccines.” Now, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has invited her to share her thoughts on a coronavirus vaccine with the Senate.
Dr. Jane Orient isn’t just any old anti-vaccine activist, though. She’s the head of the arch-conservative Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS), an organization that’s become the hard right’s go-to source for a conservative spin on everything from vaccines, masks, Obamacare, and hydroxychloroquine to whether Hillary Clinton was “neurologically disabled” during the 2016 campaign.
Orient is the only paid adviser listed on 2018 IRS filings for the American Health Legal Foundation, the nonprofit arm of AAPS which files advocacy lawsuits, and she is set to appear Tuesday in front of the Senate committee to talk about early outpatient treatment during the COVID-19 pandemic. The New York Times was the first to report on her upcoming testimony.
