AB 2098 declares that it will be deemed “unprofessional conduct” for doctors to advise their patients of any view that deviates from the official position of the State regarding COVID-19. It directs the Medical Board of California (“the Board”) to punish any doctor who “disseminates” “misinformation,” defined as anything that is not consistent with what the Board deems to be the official scientific consensus. This imposition of official government-approved orthodoxy cannot survive First Amendment scrutiny and is at odds with the scientific method itself.
Plaintiffs are seeking the Court to declare AB 2098 as unconstitutional and vague, and to enjoin Defendants from enforcement of the bill against Plaintiffs, and physicians like them, who wish to communicate their best medical judgment to their patients without interference.