In 2022 lawmakers in the U.S. state of California passed legislation which empowered the state medical board to discipline doctors in the state who “disseminate misinformation or disinformation” that contradicts the “contemporary scientific consensus” or is “contrary to the standard of care.” Proponents of the law argue that doctors should be punished for spreading misinformation and that there is clear consensus on certain issues such as that apples contain sugar, measles is caused by a virus, and Down syndrome is caused by a chromosomal abnormality. Opponents argue that the law limits freedom of speech and scientific “consensus” often changes within mere months.
Statistics are shown for this demographic
Political party
Province/Territory
Response rates from 300 Alberta voters.
48% Yes |
52% No |
42% Yes |
30% No |
6% Yes, this will decrease the amount of misinformation patients receive |
13% No, but the doctors should be required to disclose that the advice contradicts contemporary scientific consensus |
0% Yes, and the doctors should also lose their medical license |
5% No, only when the advice was proven to harm the patient |
4% No, scientific consensus can quickly change and patients should be allowed to try unconventional ideas |
Trend of support over time for each answer from 300 Alberta voters.
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Trend of how important this issue is for 300 Alberta voters.
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Unique answers from Alberta voters whose views went beyond the provided options.
@9VRCJWV1mo1MO
Some doctors have their own way of thinking about what kind of treatment is the best. It has always been a tradition to follow the ancient way of curing the patient's health. As technology advances year by year, there are more choices for different treatments. I think the doctors should learn about these treatments so they could be professionals in this field of medicine.
@9V3ZDKC2mos2MO
No, only penalize when there was proven harm to a patient - scientific consensus can quickly change and patients should have the right to be allowed to try ANY unconventional ideas, and doctors should be required to disclose that this advice may contradict at the moment, but regardless patients should have a right to try
@9RCH3XQ4mos4MO
It depends on the situation. If they can prove the health advice was unreasonable and caused harm, then yes, they should penalize those doctors. But if the advice was reasonable and did not cause harm, then the doctor should not be penalized. Particularly with rare diseases, there may not BE any scientific consensus and doctors need to be free to discuss alternative treatment options.
@9QZGVST4mos4MO
Doctors should be required to disclose that the advice contradicts contemporary scientific consensus, and only be penalized if the advice was proven to harm the patient.
@9QQKXVQ5mos5MO
If they say something that can cause danger to the patient then they should be penalised but the overall consensus isn't always correct and if they feel that they have proper medical experience on why they think this health advice is true and actually helps the patient it shouldn't. It also depends on how big of a consensus they are going against.
@9H6458512mos12MO
I am unsure as there is a lot of mix ups and constantly changing information as well as weaponisation of science to push agendas
@9G9M53L1yr1Y
yes, but only if they are penalizing the patient for not following. also if they are doing so in their own office.
@9LHLKDC7mos7MO
No, as long as they discuss this advice first with healthcare officials first and have gotten approval.
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