Florida’s Republican Governor Ron DeSantis has unveiled his new “Prescribe Freedom” plan which seeks to ban vaccine passports and protect the free speech of doctors, among other measures.
In a statement, DeSantis said he will introduce legislation that will stop Florida from being a “biomedical security state.”
DeSantis said the purpose of the legislation is to “prescribe freedom” and will see Florida serve as an antidote to states like California.
“When the world lost its mind, Florida was a refuge of sanity, serving strongly as freedom’s linchpin,” DeSantis said on Tuesday.
“These measures will ensure Florida remains this way and will provide landmark protections for free speech for medical practitioners.”
“It required us over the past few years to stand against major institutions in our society: The bureaucracy, the medical establishment, legacy media, and even the President of the United States who, together, were working to impose a biomedical security state on society,” he added.
Florida’s surgeon general Dr. Joseph Ladapo said he supports the bill because it protects and promotes the free exchange of ideas between medical professionals.
“As a health sciences researcher and physician, I have personally witnessed accomplished scientists receive threats due to their unorthodox positions,” Ladapo said.
“However, many of these positions have proven to be correct, as we’ve all seen over the past few years.
“All medical professionals should be encouraged to engage in scientific discourse without fearing for their livelihoods or their careers.
The legislation would also protect medical professionals’ freedom of speech by protecting their religious views and their right to disagree with the preferred narrative.
The bill adds additional protections for medical freedom of choice by banning discrimination based on vaccination status, testing, and mask-wearing.
