Medical freedom in Florida: Is this the real deal or more smoke and mirrors?

As promised by Gov. DeSantis, medical freedom is on the 2023 legislative agenda. The tough-on-tyranny governor wants Florida citizens to be protected from the oppressive and discriminatory policies that transpired during the COVID years.

Hence the Protection of Medical Freedom Act (SB222/HB305) was put on the table to provide DeSantis with the means to protect all Florida citizens, businesses and its visitors from future mandates and discriminatory practices based on vaccination and immunity status. This is the health freedom legislation the governor said he wanted to sign. As for action, however, it seems something completely different is being served up.

While the history-in-the-making Protection of Medical Freedom Act awaits to see the light of day, two other anti-vaccine mandate and anti-discrimination bills (SB238 & SB252) were introduced and are moving quickly through committees. These purported-to-be medical freedom bills are “COVID-specific” only and they lack the protections afforded by the Medical Freedom Act.

The real deal adds vaccination and immunity status as a protected class to our existing Civil Rights statute and covers all consumers and providers into the future. COVID mandates are over or ending, so COVID-only protection at this point is obsolete. These limited-version bills are not what was promised by DeSantis. He promised to protect Florida citizens from all mandates, not just COVID protections.

It appears that yesterday’s leftovers are being served when the order was for the special of the day – a true medical freedom bill that protects citizens from the federal government and Big Pharma. After what the world has been through and what we now know, why obsolete "COVID -specific" bills when what is needed is protection from future public health transgressions in any and all circumstances?

Presidentially inspired Gov. DeSantis has an opportunity to pass landmark medical freedom protections this year. With his trifecta and super majority, the Medical Freedom Act should be moving at warp speed through committees so the Governor can enact and codify this promised and guaranteed protection into perpetuity. However, it seems as if his team is going to punt on the guarantee of medical freedom into the future part and instead go with the limited version edition that will be effectively useless for all future pandemics.

One might wonder if special interests or nefarious goals are at play in the legislative court if this critical win-win civil rights legislation is being stalled and replaced by very limited and obsolete protections.

What is needed for all healthcare consumers and providers is the real deal – not more smoke and mirrors bills that are labeled “medical freedom” but provide little, if any, real protection and which often exempt from compliance the very individuals and institutions that we need to be protected against.

Toni Krehel has been a Florida healthcare provider and educator for over 25 years, and has served as a Florida director for the National Vaccine Information Center since 2001.

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This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Medical freedom in Florida: Is this the real deal or more smoke and mirrors?