{"id":249332,"date":"2026-04-28T08:57:09","date_gmt":"2026-04-28T08:57:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/249332\/"},"modified":"2026-04-28T08:57:09","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T08:57:09","slug":"florida-voters-not-sold-on-medical-freedom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/249332\/","title":{"rendered":"Florida voters not sold on \u2018medical freedom\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

As lawmakers prepare to take up a \u201cmedical freedom<\/a>\u201d bill during this week\u2019s Special Session, fresh polling indicates the proposal doesn\u2019t hold water with Florida voters.<\/p>\n

A new survey from Cygnal<\/a> found a clear majority oppose eliminating statewide vaccine requirements, with 67% of voters against the policy.<\/p>\n

The poll also shows voters broadly view vaccines as beneficial, with 76% saying childhood vaccines provide significant benefits and 68% backing policies that ensure access.<\/p>\n

The \u201cmedical freedom\u201d hesitancy carries into the Republican electorate as well. Among GOP Primary voters, 54% oppose eliminating vaccine requirements, while 53% say they would be less likely to support a lawmaker who backs the policy, with 44% saying they would not vote for a candidate who does.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s no question MAHA is a powerful constituency nationally and in Florida,\u201d said Chris Lane, pollster and Senior Partner at Cygnal.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cFifty-two percent of Florida voters back MAHA, but it\u2019s telling when a clear majority of self-identified MAHA supporters say that eliminating all vaccine requirements is a bridge too far. It\u2019s a strong sign that Floridians are the ultimate guardrails to what they see as acceptable for the healthcare safety of their families.\u201d<\/p>\n

The survey also asked voters where they get health-related information, with 71% saying they rely on healthcare providers for guidance on vaccines. Additionally, 92% of voters \u2014 including 90% of Republicans \u2014 say it is important for schools and health departments to provide data to respond to disease outbreaks.<\/p>\n

The findings come as the Senate Rules Committee prepares to consider legislation that would require parents to provide informed consent before their children receive vaccinations, shield doctors from penalties and liability for prescribing ivermectin, and allow pharmacists to dispense it upon request. The proposal also allows \u201cconscience-based objections\u201d to childhood inoculations.<\/p>\n

SB 6D<\/a> is identical to SB 1756<\/a>, which was approved by the Senate during the Regular Session. The House companion (HB 917<\/a>) died without a hearing.<\/p>\n

In a memo sent last week<\/a>, Senate President Ben Albritton signaled the Special Session bill will be fast tracked as the Senate \u201cheard extensive public testimony on this legislation in multiple committees during the regular session.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The legislation is a priority of Gov. Ron DeSantis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As lawmakers prepare to take up a \u201cmedical freedom\u201d bill during this week\u2019s Special Session, fresh polling indicates…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":249333,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[109258,28,30,29,63118,108599,63123,109259],"class_list":{"0":"post-249332","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-florida","8":"tag-cygnal","9":"tag-florida","10":"tag-florida-headlines","11":"tag-florida-news","12":"tag-hb-917","13":"tag-medical-freedom","14":"tag-sb-1756","15":"tag-sb-6d"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249332","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=249332"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/249332\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/249333"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=249332"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=249332"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=249332"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}