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An Early Christmas Present
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We’ve received an exciting early Christmas present!

A week ago I shared an update on our federal lawsuit against the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over the neurotoxicity of fluoridation chemicals. In short, the EPA appealed the ruling in our favor by the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. They didn’t challenge the science behind the decision or the conclusion that water fluoridation posed an unreasonable risk to public health. Their challenges were all procedural or based on weak assertions of legal errors made by the court. The case will now be decided by a three-judge panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

While most cases that go before the court of appeals are decided based exclusively on written documents, some cases are selected for short oral arguments before a court panel. On Monday, attorney Michael Connett informed us that our case was selected for oral arguments and that the proceedings, which appear to usually last an hour or less, would be streamed on Zoom.

Adding to the excitement was the news that a date for the oral arguments has been set, and it will be sooner than expected on Tuesday, March 3rd at 10:00 AM (Pacific time) in San Francisco. While we’ve all learned that there is no guarantee of a short time frame for a ruling by the court, this hearing date gives us a chance of having a decision by this summer or early fall of 2026. 

We’ve heard from many large water systems with millions of customers that if the appeal’s court decision is in our favor, they’ll either end or suspend water fluoridation immediately until the EPA promulgates rules protecting children. It will create a domino-effect across North America, followed by even more state legislatures taking action to ban the practice. 

With your help, FAN plans to continue to make more of the media and public aware of our case and build on our campaign momentum at every level–local, state, and federal–so that when we get a ruling in our favor it will have maximum impact and influence over global fluoridation policy. 

Will You Join Us in This Effort?

In the past 48 hours, we’ve raised $7,314 from 27 supporters in an effort to raise the necessary funds for our 2026 operating budget. This brings our current total to $41,145 from 282 supporters. Our current goal is $150,000 from 600 donors by midnight Pacific Time on December 31st. All donations, large and small, are crucial to us and are tax-deductible. Let’s ban fluoridation and protect the public together!

How To Make A Tax-Deductible Donation

The team at FAN wishes all of our supporters a Merry Christmas, a belated happy Hanukkah, a wonderful holiday no matter how you celebrate during this season, and a most healthy New Year. We hope everyone will have time to reflect on the eternal joy in their lives and the family and friendships that last a lifetime and beyond.

We will not be sending a bulletin on Christmas. On Friday, we will resume our annual fundraiser with bulletins on the wave of state legislatures introducing bills to ban fluoridation, the FDA’s new rules prohibiting ingestible fluoride supplements for children under 3 years of age, an update on our work at the federal level, a message from FAN’s founders honoring our 25th Anniversary, and much more.  

I’ll leave you with our favorite musical holiday message–an annual tradition for us now–from FAN’s Outreach and Education Director, Jay Sanders:

Thank you and Merry Christmas, 

Stuart Cooper

Executive Director

Fluoride Action Network