Sarasota County declared a 'Bill of Rights Sanctuary' in vote tied to 'medical freedom'

Sarasota County is now a “Bill of Rights Sanctuary County” that guarantees a patient's rights to choose medical care with informed consent, according to two related resolutions the County Commission approved on a 4-1 vote Tuesday.

Both the Bill of Rights and Medical Freedom resolutions were modeled after ones adopted in Collier County in April.

The Medical Freedoms Task Force of the Sarasota County Republican Assembly Chapter reworked those Collier County resolutions, which were later submitted to Sarasota County for consideration.

On Sept. 12,  County Commission Vice Chairman Mike Moran, requested that the county attorney’s office review the resolutions, which were put on the board's agenda for consideration.

“It's less about a resolution and a legal document; it's making sure our constituents understand that we’re listening to them,” Moran said. “The resolutions are a symbol of that … that the government works for the people and not the other way around.”

The dissenting vote was cast by Commissioner Mark Smith, who said that while several speakers – including area medical professionals – spoke during public comment in favor of both resolutions, “I don’t believe we’ve been able to vet this thing by hearing from all sides.”

He later questioned whether the resolutions solved problems in receiving medical care.

“Are these resolutions just lip service, or are we solving a problem?” Smith said, then with respect to the declaration of Sarasota as a Bill of Rights Sanctuary County, added: “I didn't realize we were having problems with Congress making laws to establish religion or having soldiers quartered in our houses.”

Smith later told the Herald-Tribune that the vote was premature and he wanted to hear from hospital administrators and heads of departments.

"There's so many things that we didn't know and the hospital, in their defense, was trying to keep their patients safe," he added, referring to Sarasota Memorial Hospital's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. "There should be an opportunity to talk and say, 'Hey, what have you've done since then?'"

Commissioner Neil Rainford later dismissed Smith’s concern about a lack of representation from area hospitals – notably the Sarasota County Health Care System – by noting that the item was listed on the commission’s agenda.

“Anybody else that wanted to speak to it could have shown up,” Rainford said.

When contacted for comment, a Sarasota Memorial Hospital spokeswoman said via email: “SMH has been caring for this community for nearly a century.

“We are committed to providing the best care for our patients and continually support our team to follow all laws and regulations,” she added. “We appreciate all advocacy on behalf of patient autonomy and ability to access high-quality care.”

Democrats call for repeal of resolutions

The chairman of the Sarasota County Democratic Party condemned the vote in a Wednesday morning email statement, likening the act as “treating the health of county residents like a piece of science fiction, instead of what could be a genuine matter of life and death.”

Democratic Party Chair Daniel Kuether went on to write: “This Twilight Zone gamesmanship is further evidence of the board’s extremist disregard for what concerns Sarasota workers, homeowners, renters, and public school teachers and students,” and called claims that federal and state agencies “failed to be ‘transparent, forthright and consistent, in protecting medical freedom false.

“We would remind the board that more than one million Americans – more than in any of our wars – died of COVID, many of them because they did not have the opportunity to be vaccinated soon enough or chose not to be vaccinated,” he added.

He urged county residents to write the five county commissioners to urge that the resolutions be repealed.

A reaction to perceived government overreach

Both resolutions grew out of public concern about perceived government overreach during the COVID-19 pandemic, with respect to quarantines, mask mandates and some patients who said they were dissatisfied with available medical care, supporters said.

Collier County Commissioner Chris Hall, who proposed both resolutions there, said he ran for the seat he won in November 2022 because he was concerned by government handling of the pandemic.

In Sarasota County specifically, the Medical Freedom movement grew out of frustration with physicians at Sarasota Memorial Hospital following treatment protocols established through the federal Centers for Disease Control – including a reliance on Remdesivir – and a refusal to readily prescribe alternative therapies such as Hydroxychloroquine and Ivermectin when requested. Medical studies have deemed those treatments to have no impact.

Most severe COVID-19 cases in Sarasota County were ultimately treated at SMH, which is the county’s public hospital.

The Sarasota County Public Hospital Board, in response to some complaints, commissioned an independent study of the hospital’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

That study ultimately showed that the hospital did better than its peer institutions, with fewer deaths and shorter stays by patients than most other facilities in Florida and nationwide.

Many of the 20 people who spoke in favor of both resolutions Tuesday had previously criticized Sarasota Memorial’s response during hospital board meetings – specifically for its adherence to federal protocols – and saw the resolutions as an opportunity for county officials to assert home rule.

"We want you to be able to do your job without being told what to do by the federal government,” said Sally Nista.

Travis Prachar, a nurse practitioner who said she treated more than 3,000 people with COVID by using Ivermectin, asked that the commission “give us back our conscience, give us back the ability to treat our patients as we know is best.”

Tanya Parus, who helped Vic Mellor found the “We the People Health and Wellness Center,” in Venice, called medical freedom a fundamental right.

“Upholding this means respecting these differences and allowing individuals to have a say in their own medical care,” she said, then added that it both recognized the expertise of medical professionals who chose to prescribe off-label remedies such as Ivermectin, while preserving the patients’ rights to participate in their own health care decisions.

Calls for 'ordinances that have teeth'

Conni Brunni, president of the Sarasota County Republican Assembly Chapter, said that the chapter’s medical task force chair, Allison Euker read the proposed resolutions at the chapter’s September meeting and said, “Folks were cheering – literally – I thought they were going to jump on top of the table because the energy in the room was so electric.

“This is something that people in this country really, really truly want.”

She later added, “The next step is implementing ordinances that have teeth.”

When Euker addressed the board, she noted the passage of Senate Bill 252, “Protection from Discrimination Based on Health Care Choice,” was a start in what needs to be done, but called for more action.

“Often state and federal law react too slowly to meet the immediate needs of its citizens. This is why local government is so important and is necessary for our republic – Sarasota County must use the strength found in the home rule charter to provide for the wishes of its citizens; use the trust you’ve been given and declare loudly never again.”

Information from the Naples Daily News was used in this report.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: Sarasota County leaders OK medical freedom, Bill of Rights resolutions