SCOTUS Asked to Block State From Investigating Doctors Who Question COVID-19 Policies

Public health policies cannot strip physicians of their free speech rights, the plaintiffs’ lawyer said.
SCOTUS Asked to Block State From Investigating Doctors Who Question COVID-19 Policies
A man receives a dose of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine in downtown Seattle on Jan. 24, 2021. Grant Hindsley/AFP via Getty Images
Matthew Vadum
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U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas this week revived an emergency application to block the Washington Medical Commission from investigating licensed physicians in the state over their criticism of COVID-19 policies.

The Washington state commission deems the doctors’ dissenting views on the disease as potentially dangerous misinformation that should be suppressed. The physicians counter that just because they have medical licenses they don’t forfeit their free speech rights under the First Amendment.