THE BLAZE – California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) signed a controversial bill that would enable medical boards to discipline doctors who are believed to spread “misinformation” about COVID-19 to patients.
The new legislation could punish California physicians and surgeons who don’t toe the line with the revocation of their medical license.
On Friday, Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 2098.
“Assembly Bill 2098 provides that the dissemination of misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19 by physicians and surgeons to a patient under their direct care constitutes unprofessional conduct,” Newsom said in a statement.
Newsom specified that AB 2098 only applies to “discussions directly related to COVID-19 treatment within a direct physician-patient relationship.”
“Doctors, fearing loss of their livelihoods, will need to hew closely to the government line on COVID science and policy, even if that line does not track the scientific evidence.”
The text of the bill reads, “The spread of misinformation and disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines has weakened public confidence and placed lives at serious risk. Major news outlets have reported that some of the most dangerous propagators of inaccurate information regarding the COVID-19 vaccines are licensed health care professionals.”
The bill references the Federation of State Medical Boards – which represents the state medical and osteopathic regulatory boards across the country.
“The Federation of State Medical Boards has released a statement warning that physicians who engage in the dissemination of COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation risk losing their medical license, and that physicians have a duty to provide their patients with accurate, science-based information,” the California bill threatens.
“Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of physicians and surgeons by the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California,” the bill notes.
AB 2098 states, “This bill would designate the dissemination of misinformation or disinformation related to the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus, or ‘COVID-19,’ as unprofessional conduct.”
According to the Medical Board of California, the minimum punishment for unprofessional conduct is five years probation, and the maximum penalty is the revocation of the doctor’s medical license … READ MORE.
