Name: 5 Doctors Sue California Over Medical Misinformation Law
Uploaded: 2022-11-10T08:22:31.000Z
Description: A group of doctors is suing California officials over a new state law that allows medical boards to punish physicians who offer what the boards deem to be "misinformation or disinformation" related to COVID-19.

Nikou Bani

NTD Plus

News

News with integrity, from the United States and around the world. Focused reports and analyses that shed light on major issues the world deserves to know. NTD Evening News airs daily at 6 p.m. ET.

NTD Evening News

Falun Gong Practitioners in New York March for Religious Freedom

Fiona Ji is a reporter based at NTD's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers local news.

Fiona Ji

Freedom 250 Grand Prix Transforms Streets of DC Into Race Track

Jack Bradley is a Washington correspondent for NTD News based in Washington, D.C. Jack previously anchored "NTD Newsroom" and worked as an assistant producer for the show. 

Jack Bradley

New US Sanctions on Iran Could Put China in the Crosshairs: Bessent

Dave Martin is NTD's Senior Sports Reporter and sports analyst. He also hosts "Data Hub" segments during NTD's special election coverage, "The Nation Decides."

Dave Martin

Top-Ranked Jannik Sinner Pulls Out of US Open

David Lam is a national correspondent based in California and a part-time anchor for "NTD Tonight." Before joining NTD he was a financial analyst.

David Lam

Fentanyl Deaths Down 22 Percent in 2025: White House

Christina Corona is a California-based reporter for NTD News. She primarily covers California news, politics, and entertainment.  

Christina Corona

Bass, Raman Clash in First LA Mayoral Debate

Race Car Drivers Rev Up for DC Grand Prix

Study: 1 Out of 3 New Webpages Show AI Authorship

Arleen Richards is NTD's legal correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City, where she covers all major legal stories. Arleen holds a Doctor of Law (J.D.).


Arleen Richards

2 Court Decisions Could Affect How Americans Vote

Arian Pasdar is an international correspondent for NTD News based in South America. His reporting focuses on immigration and key events in Latin America.

Arian Pasdar

At Least 16 Dead After Russian Strikes on Kyiv

Don Ma is an anchor and senior business correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Don is the anchor and producer of NTD's "Business Matters," which airs weekdays at 4:30 pm ET.

Don Ma

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Aug. 23)

Cary Dunst is the news anchor for NTD Evening News. He is also the co-host of NTD Good Morning.


Cary Dunst

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Aug. 21)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Aug. 20)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Aug. 19)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Aug. 18)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Aug. 17)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (Aug. 14)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (August 13)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (August 12)

NTD Evening News Full Broadcast (August 11)

Reuters is a news agency owned by Thomson Reuters. It employs around 2,500 journalists and 600 photojournalists in about 200 locations worldwide writing in 16 languages.

Reuters

US News

Cyber Defense Agency Warns Hackers Are Increasingly Targeting Water Systems

The Associated Press is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. 

The Associated Press

Charter Plane Crashes Near Remote Radar Site in Western Alaska, Killing All 8 Aboard

Rudy Blalock is a Southern California-based daily news reporter for NTD. Originally from Michigan, he moved to California in 2017 and the sunshine and ocean have kept him here since. In his free time, he may be found underwater scuba diving, on top of a mountain hiking or snowboarding, or at home meditating—which helps fuel his active lifestyle.

Rudy Blalock

RFK Jr. Declares Public Health Emergency for Wildfire-Ravaged Washington State

Tiffany Meier is an anchor, China news investigative reporter, and producer for NTD News based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Tiffany anchors NTD's flagship shows "NTD Evening News" and "China in Focus" and co-moderates NTD's special election coverage "The Nation Decides." She produced the award-winning NTD Original documentary "Hollywood Takeover: China's Control in the Film Industry."


Tiffany Meier

Shows

Fast, compelling, first-hand news from China. China in Focus airs Monday–Friday at 9:30 p.m. ET.

China in Focus

Japan to Counter China With 'Overall National Strength'; US: 'No Nation Will Dominate Indo-Pacific'

Rachel Acenas is an experienced journalist and TV news reporter and anchor covering breaking stories and contributing original news content for NTD's digital team.

Rachel Acenas

Immigration &amp; Border Security

Trump Admin Launches Program Requiring Some Immigrants to Post Bond up to $250,000

NTD Newsroom comprises teams of reporters, editors, and producers assigned to cover breaking news and other stories.


NTD Newsroom

News you can trust from the U.S. and around the world. Critical information and insight. We cover the stories that others don’t. NTD News Today airs Monday–Friday at 11 a.m. ET.

NTD News Today

Florida Ticket Wins $800 Million Mega Millions Jackpot

Troy Myers is a regional reporter based in St. Augustine, Florida. His background includes breaking, criminal justice, and investigative writing for local news, producing on a national morning newscast in Washington, D.C., and working with an award-winning, weekly investigative news program. In his free time, he enjoys spending time with his dog at the beach.

Troy Myers

Jason Perry is an Army veteran and NTD's national security correspondent. Jason primarily covers border security, national defense, foreign wars, and veterans' issues.

Jason Perry

Courts

Appeals Court Upholds Block on Trump Order to Tighten Mail-In Voting, Citizenship Verification

Iris Tao is NTD's White House correspondent based in Washington. Prior to her work at the White House, Iris reported on U.S. politics and U.S.–China relations from NTD’s New York headquarters. She holds degrees in journalism and economics from Boston University.

Iris Tao

We present news that is truthful and based on facts, outside of the political fog. Instead of focusing on the negative things happening around us, our mission is to give our viewers a good morning with empathetic and uplifting stories. Our aim is to provide an antidote to negativity by shining a light on the best side of people. We speak to inspiring people who positively impact communities, pursue topics that represent our common human values, and will never miss an opportunity to bring you heartwarming stories.

NTD Good Morning

Trump Warns of Economic Consequences for Any Country That Supports Iran

Bringing you the latest videos, livestreams, and premieres.


NTD Videos

Label

Live

NTD+ Live

Trump Makes an Announcement on Freedom Hauler in the White House

Trump Admin Revokes More Than 175,000 US Visas

A group of doctors is suing California officials over a new state law that allows medical boards to punish physicians who offer what the boards deem to be "misinformation or disinformation" related to COVID-19.

The law, passed by Democrats in September and signed into law soon after <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/newsom-signs-bill-allowing-doctors-in-california-to-face-discipline-for-misinformation_4766970.html">by Democrat Gov. Gavin Newsom</a>, violates doctors' constitutional rights to free speech and due process, according to the lawsuit.

The law's definition of misinformation, as "false information that is contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus," is a clear violation of the U.S. Constitution's First Amendment, Dr. Tracy Hoeg, a California physician, and the four other doctors said.

"In safeguarding Americans’ rights to free speech and expression, the First Amendment applies not only to expression of majority opinions, but to minority views as well," the suit reads. "Indeed, it is minority views that need protection from government censorship—as this law shows. Nor is there an exception to the prohibition on viewpoint-based discrimination simply because the law applies only to a regulated profession. In short, AB 2098 infringes Plaintiffs’ First Amendment rights because it impedes their ability to communicate with their patients in the course of treatment."

The term "scientific consensus" is also unconstitutionally vague, thus violating the plaintiffs' rights to due process of law, according to the filing.

The lawsuit was filed in a U.S. court in eastern California.

The plaintiffs want the court to enter a preliminary injunction against the law. That would block enforcement until the case is resolved.

"We have no doubt that courts will see this unconstitutional law for what it is and strike it down," Jenin Younes, a lawyer with the New Civil Liberties Alliance who is representing the plaintiffs, said in a statement.

If the law is not blocked, Hoeg  said, "physicians will find themselves in a very difficult position of needing to choose between saying what they truly believe, saying what they think the medical board wants them to say, or simply staying silent."

The Medical Board of California declined to comment.

The other defendants, including Newsom, didn't respond to requests for comment.

The lawsuit isn't the first lodged against the law. Two doctors <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/california-doctors-sue-state-over-new-medical-misinformation-law_4777598.html">sued over it in October</a>, also alleging that their free speech rights were being violated.

In a message to lawmakers about signing the law, Newsom said the law would not have a "chilling effect" on doctors and that it was "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."

<em>From <a href="https://www.theepochtimes.com/five-doctors-sue-california-over-medical-misinformation-law_4842077.html">The Epoch Times</a></em>

CALIFORNIA

Videos

04_Top Stories

lawsuit

Latest Clips

COVID-19

California

Daniel Holl is a Sacramento, California-based reporter, specializing in China-related topics. He moved to China alone and stayed there for almost seven years, learning the language and culture. He is fluent in Mandarin Chinese.

Daniel Holl

Latest and breaking news, documentaries, movies, and lifestyle content on NTD+.
 
Empower your knowledge and elevate your spirit with NTD+, your go-to destination for truthful news, insightful documentaries, and captivating lifestyle content that enriches your life.

5 Doctors Sue California Over Medical Misinformation Law

Stefania Cox is an NTD News anchor and national correspondent based at the network's global headquarters in New York City. Stefania anchors "NTD Newsroom," and co-anchors "NTD News Today" weekdays at 10:00 am ET.