U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said he’s proud of Utah’s push to eliminate fluoride from drinking water, telling reporters he hopes other states follow suit.
Kennedy spoke to a crowded room of journalists, lawmakers and health officials on Monday, part of a tour of Western states to promote his “Make America Healthy Again” agenda, known as MAHA.
“If we want to be a moral nation, if we want to maintain our moral authority around the world, our chief obligation is to our children. And we’re letting them down. And I’m very, very happy that Utah is taking the lead in so many ways,” Kennedy said on Monday. “It makes no sense to have fluoride in our water. The evidence against fluoride is overwhelming … we know that it causes I.Q. loss.”
Fluoride is a mineral that has been shown to strengthen teeth by replacing minerals that are lost from acid breakdown, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. A recent report from the National Toxicology Program found that high levels of fluoride in drinking water can be associated with a lower I.Q. in children — but according to the report, those levels are twice as high as the current recommended amount of fluoride.
Kennedy spoke to several bills that align with the MAHA agenda, mostly focusing on HB81, the fluoride bill. Sponsored by Rep. Stephanie Gricius, R-Eagle Mountain, the bill prohibits municipalities from adding fluoride to drinking water, while adding it to the list of drugs that pharmacists can prescribe.
Utah House Speaker Mike Schultz said that’s a “win-win” situation.
“We want to make sure those options are there” for Utahns who want more fluoride than what’s available in toothpaste or mouthwash, said Schultz, R-Hooper, who spoke during Monday’s press conference.
The bill received pushback from dentists and other health professionals, who say adding fluoride to drinking water has resulted in less cavities among children. That includes Dr. Sarah Woolsey, a family physician who told lawmakers during a legislative committee meeting that she saw a decrease in referrals for cavity extractions under anesthesia after Salt Lake County started to add fluoride to its water.
“Despite my efforts in education, in prescribing fluoride and working with parents, the voluntary application does not always work for those that may be most vulnerable,” said Woolsey. “And I would like to say that since fluoride has been in the water, the number of kids I send (to have teeth extracted) is significantly less.”
The bill passed mostly along party lines, with a handful of Republicans joining Democrats in opposition. It was signed by the governor on March 27, and takes effect on May 7.
After the press conference on Monday, Kennedy told the Associated Press he will instruct the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to stop recommending state and local governments add fluoride to drinking water. He also told the Associated Press he will set up a task force to look into the issue.
Lee Zeldin, a former GOP congressman and the current head of the Environmental Protection Agency, said the agency is going to review all the fluoride-related studies that came out since the National Toxicology Program report in 2024.
“We’re prepared to act based on this science,” said Zeldin, who also spoke during the event on Monday. “Both the National Toxicology Program study, as well as other peer-reviewed studies. If this is as important as it is to Secretary Kennedy, if it’s important as it is, clearly to so many people who are here in this room and at this press conference today, then it is top of the list for the Environmental Protection Agency.”
Kennedy suggested Gricius’ bill could be a model for other states.
“I’m very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban (fluoride). I hope many more will come,” he said on Monday, echoing the argument from Utah lawmakers this session — that it’s an issue of bodily autonomy and freedom of choice.
This story was republished from Utah News Dispatch, read the entire piece here.
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About the Author
Kyle Dunphey covers politics, public safety and the environment for Utah News Dispatch. He was named Best Newspaper Reporter by the Utah Society of Professional Journalists in 2023 for his work on crime and immigration at the Deseret News.
