California lawmakers have introduced a bill that, if passed, could see doctors stripped of their medical licenses if they prescribe treatments that go against state-approved dictates.
The most obvious example of who AB 2098 would target would be doctors who disseminate “misinformation or disinformation,” such as to prescribe treatments like ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine to combat the COVID-19 virus.
It designates such actions to constitute “unprofessional conduct” on the part of the medical professionals and would subject them to disciplinary action by the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, The Washington Examiner reported.
On Thursday, the bill, introduced by Democrat Assemblyman Evan Low, passed the state Assembly in a vote of 53-20.
It will be considered by the state Senate next.
“Major news outlets have reported that some of the most dangerous propagators of inaccurate information regarding the COVID vaccines are licensed health care professionals,” the legislation states, omitting to mention any news outlets by name, as the Examiner notes.
So-called medical disinformation has been a highly contested issue since COVID-19 began to spread around the globe. Social media outlets have worked to stop the spread of “misinformation” and “disinformation,” particularly about treatments or vaccinations for the virus.
This was egged on by the Biden White House, although the administration has been vocally critical of Big Tech for not doing enough to suppress such information which led to the advent of the now-disbanded Disinformation Governance Board
The Epoch Times pointed to a statement from the State of California Department of Consumer Affairs, the California State Board of Pharmacy, and the Medical Board of California issued in April 2020 at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic that the “improper prescribing of medications related to treatment of Novel Coronavirus,” and “inappropriately prescribing or dispensing” such medications “constitutes unprofessional conduct in California.”
In June of 2021, the Federation of State Medical Boards issued a warning, stating that “Physicians who generate and spread COVID-19 vaccine misinformation or disinformation are risking disciplinary action by state medical boards, including the suspension or revocation of their medical license.”
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