A group of California physicians filed a lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom and the state’s medical board over a new law that will regulate what doctors can tell patients about COVID-19 risks and treatments.
A.B. 2098 will make it “unprofessional conduct” for physicians or surgeons to provide their patients “false information” related to COVID-19, including vaccines, “that is contradicted by “contemporary scientific consensus contrary to the standard of care.” The legislation discriminates against alternative viewpoints and creates “a severe chilling effect,” contradicting the First Amendment, the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA)-backed lawsuit contends.
The lawsuit’s plaintiffs, Drs. Tracy Høeg, Ram Duriseti Aaron Kheriaty, Pete Mazolewski and Azadeh Khatibi, are all board-licensed physicians and surgeons. Newsom signed the law Sept. 30, and it has been scheduled to be effective Jan. 1, 2023.
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