Newsom Sued Over COVID 'Misinformation' Law That Doctors Say Tramples First Amendment Rights

Fox News reported:

A group of California physicians is suing Governor Gavin Newsom's administration over a state law that empowers the Medical Board of California to discipline physicians who espouse opinions about COVID-19 that are not in line with the mainstream.

In a lawsuit filed Wednesday, five doctors asked a district court in California to prevent the law from taking effect and said it violates their First Amendment rights and constitutional right to due process. The doctors are represented by the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), a nonpartisan civil rights firm.

The law is set to take effect on January 1, 2023. It would allow the Medical Board of California and the Osteopathic Medical Board of California to discipline physicians who "disseminate" information about COVID that departs from the "contemporary scientific consensus."

The doctors, who treat patients on a regular basis, say the California law violates their First Amendment rights because "it impedes their ability to communicate with their patients in the course of treatment." The doctors are asking that the court stop the law from taking effect in January while they battle the state in court in hopes that the "unconstitutional" law ultimately be struck down.