COLUMBUS, Ohio — Governor Mike DeWine of Ohio vetoed certain provisions of a legislative bill late Thursday night, which lawmakers had positioned as a measure to safeguard the medical free speech rights of healthcare practitioners. DeWine expressed concerns that the proposed changes would severely undermine the state’s ability to monitor and penalize professional misconduct within the medical field.
While DeWine rejected parts of the bill related to health oversight, he did allow another section to remain intact, permitting law enforcement agencies to levy charges of up to $75 per hour for access to police body camera footage. This decision faced criticism from advocates for open government, including groups like the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the NAACP.
The veto of the health-oriented provisions comes amid a backdrop of ongoing national debates surrounding medical science, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, these discussions are expected to intensify as President-elect Donald Trump plans to appoint Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist, to a leadership role within the nation’s health agencies.
In his veto message, DeWine articulated that the amendments related to medical oversight could have catastrophic implications for patient safety. He emphasized the role of Ohio’s medical licensing boards in safeguarding the public against unprofessional practices and expressed that those who provide harmful medical care should not be granted immunity through claims of differing medical opinions.
House Bill 315, which attracted considerable attention, was passed shortly after 2 a.m. during the last night of the legislative “lame duck” session the previous month. The bill, which became a sort of “Christmas tree” bill accumulating various contentious measures from different legislation, faced additional vetoes from DeWine regarding measures intended to create new exemptions within the state’s ethics laws, which were criticized for potentially weakening existing standards.
The Ohio Ethics Commission applauded the governor’s rejection of the ethics exemptions, noting that it would have allowed various officials, such as mayors, to maintain financial interests in public contracts stemming from agencies they supervise.
Yet, the vetoed medical freedom provisions were seen as likely to have the broadest repercussions. They included a call to prevent Ohio’s Department of Health and state medical and pharmacy boards from sanctioning healthcare professionals for expressing medical opinions that diverged from those of state or local health authorities. DeWine chose to retain a provision in the bill that positions Ohio outside the World Health Organization’s governance.
Unlike some of his Republican peers, DeWine did not endorse a letter sent to the Biden administration by 24 fellow GOP governors earlier this year, which objected to a WHO proposal designed to manage future pandemics. In that communication, they claimed the treaty would diminish state authority over health matters, a narrative that was later dismissed by experts, contributing to the collapse of that global agreement.
Ohio Advocates for Medical Freedom, a nonpartisan organization advocating for limited vaccine mandates, expressed support for the vetoed provisions aimed at protecting medical speech. Their initiatives coincide with DeWine’s previous vetoes during the pandemic aimed at restricting the state’s capacity to issue emergency health regulations. Although lawmakers tried but failed to override his initial veto in December 2020, they succeeded in passing a compromised version of the law shortly after.
While the advocates have attempted to downplay the influence that the case of Dr. Sherri Tenpenny had on the recent proposal, Tenpenny gained notoriety for her controversial comments regarding COVID-19 vaccines during legislative testimonies. She initially faced significant scrutiny after claiming that the vaccines could cause unusual interactions with technology and disrupt menstrual cycles, leading to an inquiry by the state medical board following numerous complaints.
The medical board ultimately suspended Tenpenny’s license in 2023 after her lack of cooperation with their investigation, which included not answering questions or participating in meetings. However, she has since reached a resolution by paying a fine and has agreed to cooperate with ongoing investigations. Her medical license was subsequently reinstated earlier this year.
