California makes it illegal for doctors to disagree with politicians… Doctors challenge it
Gov. Gavin Newsom recently signed California Assembly Bill 2098, making it the first state to attempt to censor what physicians can say about COVID-19 to their patients. This is a dangerous, and likely unconstitutional, effort that other states must resist.
On September 30, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law Assembly Bill 2098, which authorizes state regulators to discipline doctors who “disseminate misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19.” The law, which is scheduled to take effect on January 1, defines “misinformation” as advice “contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus.” Implicitly acknowledging the First Amendment issues raised by A.B. 2098, Newsom averred that “it is narrowly tailored to apply only to those egregious instances in which a licensee is acting with malicious intent or clearly deviating from the required standard of care while interacting directly with a patient under their care.”
Glad it's so limited and will almost never have to be applied!