Governor Ron DeSantis held a press conference in Destin last week. During the conference, the governor signed multiple pieces of legislation into law. One of the bills signed by the Governor was Senate Bill 1580, which is what DeSantis is calling the Physician’s Freedom of Speech.
The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has condemned Gov. DeSantis for signing SB 1580 by calling it a “License to Discriminate in Healthcare” bill. This bill will allow healthcare providers and insurers to deny a patient care based on religious, moral, or ethical beliefs. It creates a license to discriminate by allowing healthcare employers to discriminate in hiring, and it bars medical Boards from disciplining doctors for spreading misinformation.
In addition, SB 1580 has whistle-blower protections for healthcare providers and healthcare payors that take certain actions or disclose certain information relating to the reporting of certain violations.
The governor also said SB 1580 prohibits boards, or the Department of Health if there is no board, from taking disciplinary action against or denying a license to an individual based solely on specified conduct, etc. Opponents of the law say this allows the denial of healthcare to the transgender community.
Acting at the behest of the administration of Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, the Florida Board of Medicine and the Board of Osteopathic Medicine also adopted this politically motivated bill. #Queer Up Health