Ohio governor vetoes medical free speech clause he says would gut state's regulatory power
Source: Associated Press
Ohio governor vetoes medical free speech clause he says would gut state’s regulatory power
By JULIE CARR SMYTH
Updated 5:34 PM EST, January 3, 2025
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine vetoed part of a bill late Thursday that state lawmakers cast as protecting the medical free speech of doctors and other health professionals but that the Republican governor says would “totally gut” the state’s ability to regulate misconduct.
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DeWine’s veto of the health-related language comes as Republican President-elect Donald Trump prepares to appoint anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to head the nation’s health agencies and with national divisions over medical science still festering in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
DeWine said in a veto message that the medical oversight language added to a the bill could have had “devastating and deadly consequences for patient health.”
“Ohio’s medical licensing boards exist to protect patients and the public from bad actors in the medical field,” he wrote. He said health professionals who give harmful medical care shouldn’t get a “legal shield” to avoid accountability by “saying there was a difference of ‘medical opinion.’”
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Read more: https://apnews.com/article/ohio-governor-veto-medical-free-speech-4a11b91b79b369f95ef002bc62239b5f
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The medical "free speech" clause was part of an omnibus bill. The vetoed measure was backed by Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom, an anti-vaccine mandates group.
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