VP Candidate Nicole Shanahan Shares Views on Autism, Health Freedom and Declining Fertility
In an interview with Children’s Health Defense CEO Mary Holland, Nicole Shanahan, vice-presidential running mate of RFK Jr., explained why she’s on a mission to improve the well-being of children.
Nicole Shanahan, president of the Bia-Echo Foundation and the vice-presidential running mate of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Children’s Health Defense’s (CHD) chairman on leave, is on a mission to champion health freedom and the well-being of every child.
In an interview with CHD CEO Mary Holland on “Good Morning CHD,” Shanahan delved into the foundation’s work on regenerative agriculture, women’s reproductive health and criminal justice reform.
“We know that healthy humans require a healthy planet,” she told Holland. “And it’s just been amazing to see how all of these themes interconnect so deeply … It all really comes down to serving the foundational needs of human health.”
‘A mother’s mindset’ for putting health first
Shanahan’s journey into health freedom advocacy was deeply personal, she said, sparked by her daughter’s autism diagnosis at age 18 months.
“It’s impacted my life in such significant ways,” Shanahan said, sharing how the experience led her to question the conventional understanding of autism as a purely psychological disorder.
Shanahan explained that the mislabeling of autism “has proven to be really detrimental” and “takes attention off of … the underlying medical conditions that many of these children struggle with.”
Responding to Holland’s question about how she would make the world “safe and healthy for children,” Shanahan described the government as a “giant transactional vehicle” where money flows in and out based on policy.
“All policies should be designed putting the health and wellness of the American public first, not last,” she said. “Having a mother’s mindset or a parent’s mindset when operating in the government makes so much sense.”
Connecting soil health to human health, criminal justice reform
Shanahan’s interest in regenerative agriculture stems from her understanding of the deep connection between soil health and human well-being.
“I got into regenerative agriculture before my daughter’s diagnosis,” she said.
Initially drawn to regenerative agriculture as a solution to climate change, Shanahan soon realized its potential to address chronic diseases.
“It’s the only thing that actually makes financial sense,” she told Holland. “And then you get all the added benefits … of feeding the population [with nutrient-dense foods] and … heal[ing] many chronic diseases.”
“The very fact that we’ve killed so much of the soil’s organic matter is one of the reasons why … eating vegetables isn’t enough,” she said. “And then you also need to make sure that the crop itself hasn’t been modified.”
Shanahan told Holland that the Bia-Echo Foundation connects soil and food health to criminal justice reform, emphasizing the importance of addressing systemic issues like food deserts and poverty.
“One of the big pivots I made in criminal justice reform was really … making sure that communities of color had ample ownership of farmland in this country,” she said.
Championing research in women’s reproductive health
Shanahan’s foundation also advances research in women’s reproductive health, a field she believes has been grossly underfunded and understudied.
The lack of research into women’s fertility and reproductive aging has led to a knowledge gap, leaving many women with unexplained infertility.
“We’ve never invested in the foundational science of fertility and infertility,” she said, noting the need for more research into how toxic chemical exposures and lifestyle factors affect reproductive cycles.
Through the Bia-Echo Foundation, Shanahan is the largest funder of reproductive longevity studies involving ovarian senescence and health. Through cross-disciplinary research, it aims to uncover the complex factors influencing women’s reproductive lives.
“We’re really funding the science for the sake of science, so that doctors can give good advice, not necessarily sell a drug … [or] a treatment,” she said.
Fighting for medical freedom and bodily autonomy
Shanahan is a fierce advocate for medical freedom and bodily autonomy, viewing the COVID-19 vaccine mandates as a violation of basic human rights.
“People have a right to be fully informed of what they’re putting into their bodies,” she said.
The erosion of trust in government and the importance of weeding out corruption are central to Shanahan’s mission, she said.
Shanahan told Holland she believes the only way to restore trust in government is by appointing people who prioritize the health and well-being of the American people.
The person running the U.S. Food and Drug Administration “should not be anyone entrenched in any existing pharmaceutical business,” Shanahan said, but someone “who has actually learned the modalities of healing and [has] the bravery and integrity to know the difference between a short-sighted drug and a truly meaningful, scientifically worthy application.”
Shanahan said health freedom issues are pivotal to this time in history.
“When we think about liberty, we have to remember [that] our founding fathers intended this … to be a country of empowered individual citizens … [who] could challenge their government if their government went awry as it has,” she said.
‘Really alarming’ censorship by government’s ‘powers of threat’
Shanahan also addressed censorship and the suppression of health freedom information online.
She said it was “really alarming” to be in Silicon Valley, “watching these tech companies turn into extensions of the government” that is using its “powers of threat to get these corporations to comply.”
The impact of censorship on younger generations is of particular concern to Shanahan.
For those who “live a massive part of their lives online … when you’re limiting speech,” she said, “you’re really starting to manipulate and mold the opinion and the control of the population.”
“The minute that we get compliant in … the dilution of these constitutional freedoms,” she told Holland, “is when we hand over all power to the government and the various bad actors that are influencing” it.
Earning people’s trust requires we ‘weed out corruption’
As the interview drew to a close, Shanahan reiterated her vision for a government that prioritizes the health and well-being of its citizens.
“I think we can all agree [about] the current state of corporate capture,” she said, pointing out that the government has “become a check-printing organization for private businesses.”
“The only way to earn back the trust of the people in this moment is to weed out corruption from these very, very important positions of power,” she said.
Holland noted the growing health freedom movement and the transformational moment humanity is in, with more people questioning vaccine safety and the actions of global institutions like the World Health Organization and World Economic Forum in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“What could be a more fundamental freedom than what you put in your body?” Holland asked. “If they can mandate an intravenous injection, they can mandate the food that you eat, which is essentially what’s happening. … That’s not a world that I believe most humans want to live in.”
Shanahan expressed her admiration for CHD’s work and the inspiration she has drawn from the global protests against the World Health Organization’s pandemic treaty.
Watch Nicole Shanahan and Mary Holland on ‘Good Morning CHD’:
The Defender on occasion posts content related to Children’s Health Defense’s nonprofit mission that features Kennedy’s and Shanahan’s views on the issues CHD and The Defender regularly cover. In keeping with Federal Election Commission rules, this content does not represent a political endorsement of Kennedy, who is on leave from CHD and is running as an independent for president of the U.S., or of his running mate.