A group of doctors in California is suing far-left Governor Gavin Newsom (D-CA) over a law that gives the Medical Board of California the authority to sanction doctors who hold unpopular views on COVID-19.
California became the first state to regulate what doctors can say to their patients regarding COVID-19 after Governor Newsom recently signed Assembly Bill 2098, making it the first state to attempt such censorship, New York Post reported.
The new law will make it illegal for doctors to disagree with politicians’ agendas.
“This bill would designate the dissemination of misinformation or disinformation related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, or “COVID-19,” as unprofessional conduct. The bill would also make findings and declarations in this regard,” according to CA’s website.
“It shall constitute unprofessional conduct for a physician and surgeon to disseminate misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19, including false or misleading information regarding the nature and risks of the virus, its prevention and treatment; and the development, safety, and effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines.”
On Wednesday, five doctors filed a complaint in a California court, claiming the law violates their First Amendment and due process rights and asking the court to block it from taking effect.
FOX News reported:
The doctors are represented by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a nonpartisan civil rights firm.
“California’s new ‘misinformation’ law is the result of an increasingly censorious mentality that has gripped many lawmakers in this country,” Jenin Younes, counsel for NCLA, said in a media statement.
“That this shocking bill passed through the state legislature and was signed into law by Governor Newsom demonstrates that far too many Americans do not understand the First Amendment,” Younes said.
The law is set to take effect on January 1, 2023. It would allow the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California to discipline physicians who “disseminate” information about COVID that departs from the “contemporary scientific consensus.”
The doctors, who treat patients on a regular basis, say the California law violates their First Amendment rights because “it impedes their ability to communicate with their patients in the course of treatment.”
“In safeguarding Americans’ rights to free speech and expression, the First Amendment applies not only to expression of majority opinions, but to minority views as well,” the complaint said.
“Indeed, it is minority views that need protection from government censorship — as this law shows. Nor is there an exception to the prohibition on viewpoint-based discrimination simply because the law applies only to a regulated profession,” it said.
Read more here.
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