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See Corresponding Action Alert for A1884 & S3700
UPDATE: 9/23/2024 - A1884 was referred to the Assembly Regulated Professions Committee on 9/23/2024.
UPDATE: 9/23/2024 - A1884, as amended, passed the Assembly Health Committee by a vote of 5 Yes, 3 No, 2 Not Voting, and 1 Abstain, on 9/23/2024. View the amendment HERE. View the Hearing Audio HERE. The vote on the passage of the bill as amended begins at timestamp [1:40:47].
UPDATE: 9/23/2024 - A1884 was amended in the Assembly Health Committee by a vote 5 Yes, 2 No, on 9/23/2024. View the Hearing Audio HERE. The text of the amendment is not yet available to view. The hearing and testimony for A1884 begins at timestamp [38:17]. The amendment description begins at [1:39:38] and the vote on the amendment begins at timestamp [1:40:15].
The amendment strikes from the definition of “Misinformation” the words "and contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus contrary to the standard of care", as summarized below:
“Misinformation” means any health-related claim of fact that is false and contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus contrary to the standard of care.
NVIC OPPOSES A1884 because it inhibits health care professionals from treating and advising their patients according to their knowledge and understanding of a particular health related issue without fear of committing a newly defined form of professional misconduct based on the subjective terms “misinformation” and “disinformation” resulting in disciplinary action from the state and its professional and occupation boards. This would effectively censor the free speech of health care professionals and interfere with or obstruct the informed consent process. This amendment does not necessitate a title change as the bill still "Restricts medical free speech of health care professionals by creating new offense deemed professional misconduct for spreading "mis/disinformation"".
UPDATE: 9/19/2024 - A1884 is scheduled for a hearing in the Assembly Health Committee on Monday, September 23, 2024, at 10:00 AM in Committee Room 16, 4th Floor, State House Annex building in Trenton, New Jersey. View the hearing agenda HERE. Contact the members of the Assembly Health Committee and ask them to OPPOSE A1884.
Phone and email contact list for the Assembly Health Committee. Click on the Assemblymember's name from the list below to access their "contact your legislator" email form.
Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr., (856) 461-3997
Assemblywoman Pamela R. Lampitt, (856) 435-1247
Assemblyman John V. Azzariti Jr. M.D., (201) 666-0881
Assemblywoman Margie Donlon M.D., (732) 695-3371
Assemblywoman Shama A. Haider, (201) 308-7061
Assemblywoman Nancy F. Muñoz, (908) 918-0414
Assemblyman Erik Peterson, (908) 238-0251
Assemblyman Brian E. Rumpf, (609) 693-6700
Assemblywoman Shanique Speight, (862) 237-9752
Assemblyman Chris Tully, (201) 576-9199
Assemblyman Anthony S. Verrelli, (609) 292-0500
A1884 was introduced in the Assembly and referred to the Assembly Health Committee on 1/9/2024. This bill is sponsored by Assemblyman Herb Conaway Jr., Assemblyman Sterley S. Stanley, and Assemblywoman Shanique Speight.
S3700 was introduced in the Senate and referred to the Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee on 9/30/2024. This bill is sponsored by Senator Joseph Vitale.
A1884 / S3700 create a new offense under the category of professional misconduct, to be regulated by state licensing and occupational boards, to find health care professionals who disseminate information deemed "misinformation" or "disinformation" guilty of said professional misconduct. These bills allow the state to censor the free speech of health care professionals and obstruct the informed consent process.
A1884 / S3700 create a new section of law under Title 45, related to professions and occupations, of the New Jersey Statutes that authorizes a professional licensing board to find a health care professional guilty of professional misconduct and subject to disciplinary action if the health care professional engages in what the board deems to be the dissemination of misinformation or disinformation. These bills are summarized as follows:
SECTION 1. a. create the offense of dissemination of misinformation or disinformation as an act of professional misconduct and require any health care professional who engages in said act to be found guilty of professional misconduct in violation of P.L.1978, c.73, Section 8, Subsection e. and subject to disciplinary action pursuant to P.L.1978, c.73.
b. Authorize each board to establish by rule or regulation (1) general causes which constitute grounds for professional misconduct and disciplinary action; and (2) the appropriate disciplinary actions that may be taken against a health care professional based on the extent of the dissemination of misinformation or disinformation.
c. provide definitions for this section including "disinformation" to mean misinformation that is deliberately disseminated with malicious intent or an intent to mislead, and "misinformation" to mean any health-related claim of fact that is false and contradicted by contemporary scientific consensus contrary to the standard of care.
If passed, A1884 / S3700 will become effective immediately.
NVIC OPPOSES A1884 / S3700 because they authorize the state and its professional and occupational boards to censor the free speech of health care professionals and inhibit them from treating and advising their patients according to their knowledge and understanding of a particular health-related issue. A1884 / S3700 are not only a direct violation of the First Amendment to the US Constitution that protects citizens from the government restricting their speech, but these bills also allow the government to dictate the type of care and consultation a health care provider is authorized to give to their patients. This is not the U.S. model for health care, nor does this guarantee better health outcomes.
During the spread of COVID-19, individuals' real vaccine reaction experiences and credible medical professionals' concerns that didn't align with the CDC's tightly controlled false narrative on vaccine safety and efficacy were removed from social media platforms and physicians in various states were targeted by their licensing boards for spreading "misinformation." These bills would authorize the state of New Jersey to block legitimate risks from any current or future vaccine from being shared with individuals through their trusted health care professionals, thus blocking a patient's ability to give true informed consent for that medical procedure. When people are not allowed to discover the risks to a medical procedure, like vaccination, they cannot evaluate their own contraindications to vaccination in consultation with their health care provider and are at greater risk for injury.
The Centers for Disease Control is responsible for both promoting vaccines and monitoring their safety. Their safety systems are ineffective partly because of these internal conflicts of interest. The public suffers immensely from this as vaccine safety at the CDC takes a backseat to vaccine promotion. State health departments and medical boards take their cues from the CDC, so any talk of real vaccine safety issues are most likely going to be disputed and trigger professional misconduct charges for health care practitioners. As long as there is this internal conflict of interest within the CDC to protect the reputation of vaccines at all costs, it is even more important for health care practitioners to be able to bring up their vaccination concerns with their patients without risking their careers.
A1884 / S3700 would enable licensing boards in the state of New Jersey to take punitive actions against physicians and medical professionals if they attempt to warn others about the risks of a medical procedure, like vaccination, that is practiced as part of the "standard of care."
The following are some verifiable facts regarding vaccines that are currently censored on social media platforms as "misinformation" and could be similarly targeted for "disinformation" or "misinformation" in New Jersey by the professional licensing boards if this bill passes: As of September 1, 2024, the United States Government has paid more than $5.27 billion to vaccine victims through the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program (VICP). As of August 30, 2024, there were 48,389 deaths and 2,624,640 adverse events reported to the US Vaccine Adverse Events Reporting System (VAERS).
NVIC supports informed consent to vaccination, which includes the right to discuss vaccine risks and refuse a vaccine without coercion, harassment, or penalty. All vaccines are pharmaceutical products that carry a risk of injury and even death. It is important to protect the right of every individual, no matter their profession, to speak about vaccine risks without the threat of punishment or retaliation.
https://njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/A1884 - text, status, and history of A1884
https://njleg.state.nj.us/bill-search/2024/S3700 - text, status, and history of S3700
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