SACRAMENTO, California (LifeSiteNews) — California legislators have subtly passed a bill that would repeal a law targeting doctors who take a stand against mainstream COVID-19 narratives after previously labeling them as engaging in “medical misinformation.”
Assembly Bill 2098, which Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last year, considers medical doctors and surgeons to be guilty of “unprofessional conduct” if they “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.”
The legislation also subjected physicians found to have violated the law to disciplinary action from the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California, including potential suspension of medical licenses.
Last week, a separate bill was enrolled after approval by both chambers of the California legislature that included a quiet redaction of the repercussions for challenging COVID narratives outlined in AB 2098. Senate Bill 815 relates to regulations for the Medical Board of California, which handles patient complaints.
“Existing law provides that it shall constitute unprofessional conduct for a physician and surgeon to disseminate misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19, as specified,” SB 815 declares. “This bill would repeal the above-described provisions that provide that it shall constitute as unprofessional conduct for a physician and surgeon to disseminate misinformation or disinformation related to COVID-19, as provided.”
While the legislative body has enrolled a final version of the proposed law, SB 815 still awaits Gov. Newsom’s signature before being enacted.
“The California legislature likely saw the writing on the wall – that their statute would be found unconstitutional – so they attempted to quietly scuttle it,” Mary Holland, president of Children’s Health Defense (CHD), said. “This is an example of how legal wins can lead to legislative wins, and this is definitely a win when doctors can practice medicine freely.”
Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, who was suspended from a Texas hospital in 2021 for promoting ivermectin as a treatment for COVID-19, also welcomed the news of SB 815’s passage, writing on X, formerly Twitter, that it was “another win to celebrate.”
In response to a post from Dr. Richard Pan, a left-wing pediatrician running for mayor of Sacramento, Bowden added that “AB 2098 was one of the most unbelievably anti-American bills ever created, designed to force your doctor to lie to you.”
In addition to co-authoring the so-called “medical misinformation” bill, Pan was previously appointed as a consultant for the American Medical Association (AMA) after pushing for all school children in the state of California to be injected with the experimental COVID-19 shot.
AB 2098 was originally approved in August 2022, when it was sent to Gov. Newsom’s desk and received his signature on September 30 of last year. Shortly after, psychiatrist Dr. Mark McDonald and primary care physician Dr. Jeff Barke filed a lawsuit in California against the state’s Attorney General Robert Bonta as well as 12 members of the state Medical Board, challenging the law.
Two months later, CHD filed a separate federal lawsuit against Bonta and the Osteopathic Medical Board over the unconstitutional law. In January 2023, the judge hearing the case granted CHD a preliminary injunction blocking AB 2098, stating that California officials listed as defendants gave “no evidence that ‘scientific consensus’ has any established technical meaning” and that the bill language does not clearly define what is considered “misinformation.”
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