Physicians for Informed Consent Files New Lawsuit to Challenge Medical Board’s Claimed Authority to Censor California Doctors’ Speech

Newport Beach, California – Physicians for Informed Consent (PIC), a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization, has filed a new first amendment lawsuit in federal court—together with co-plaintiffs Children’s Health Defense, Pierre Kory, MD, and Brian Tyson, MD.  The new case, Kory v. Bonta, 2:24-cv-00001-DJC-AC, in the Eastern District of California is the companion case to PIC’s successful First Amendment free speech lawsuit Hoang v. Bonta, 652 F. Supp. 3d 1172 (E.D. Cal. 2023). In the Hoang case, PIC and its co-plaintiffs prevailed in January 2023 when the court issued a preliminary injunction barring enforcement of a COVID-19 “misinformation” statute (AB 2098/B&P §2270) against each plaintiff, including all of PIC’s physician members. Then in October 2023, PIC was pleased to observe the California legislature and Governor Newsom repeal the misinformation statute, effective January 1, 2024.

However, in parallel last year, a medical doctor (not a PIC member) was accused by the Medical Board of California for “failure to wear a mask” during a patient visit, and making statements such as “masks don’t stop viruses” and “encouraging the use of veterinary ivermectin” for COVID-19, without informing the patient that “she was advising actions/inactions that fell below the standard of care in the community.” Last month the physician surrendered her medical license.

Per PIC general counsel, Greg Glaser, Esq., “This new lawsuit is necessary because the medical boards in California are still not respecting the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and doctors’ speech is being chilled.”

According to the allegations in the new complaint authored by PIC’s lead litigator Richard Jaffe: “Despite its repeal, the Medical Board of California (hereinafter the ‘Medical Board’) is still targeting ‘Covid misinformation’, and physicians are still being intimidated and threatened by disciplinary action. The only difference is that now the investigations and public threats are based on the general standard of care statute. The Medical Board continues to ally itself with, and adopt the recommendations of, the Federation of State Medical Boards (the ‘Federation’), which calls for its member medical boards to prosecute physicians for “Covid misinformation.’”

To help the ongoing effort to safeguard free speech and informed consent, donate here: picdata.org/donate

CASE INFORMATION

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT EASTERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA
Kory v. Bonta
Case: 2:24-cv-00001-DJC-AC