Sarasota passes resolutions to protect medical freedom, establish ‘Bill of Rights Sanctuary’

SARASOTA, Fla. – The Sarasota Board of County Commissioners voted to pass two resolutions during a meeting Tuesday dealing with medical freedom and the creation of a “Bill of Rights Sanctuary.”

One resolution establishes Sarasota County as a Bill of Rights “sanctuary county” while another resolution aims to “protect” medical freedom in the county.

Several members of the public spoke in favor of the resolutions during the meeting, including a handful of doctors and nurses in the community – some of which gave testimony to what they experienced during the coronavirus pandemic.

The medical freedom resolution declared that each citizen is guaranteed the right to medical freedom, the right to freedom from discrimination in medical matters, the right to informed consent of patients without interference, protection against quarantine, and more.

The resolution on the Bill of Rights stated that Sarasota County “has the right to be free from the commanding hand of the federal government and has the right to seek judicial relief from the unlawful conduct of federal government officials in response to unconstitutional federal government measures.”

Vice Chair Mike Moran said staff used Collier County’s resolutions documents and tweaked them them to fit Sarasota. 

In August, Collier County commissioners voted to establish the Southwest Florida county as a “Bill of Rights Sanctuary County” in response to the federal government’s COVID-19 response and other perceived overreach.

The Sarasota resolutions passed 4-1 Tuesday, with Commissioner Mark Smith voting in opposition.

Smith said he did not believe they were able to “vet” the resolution, and wanted to hear from the health department and representatives from Sarasota Memorial Hospital.

Commissioner Neil Rainford pointed out that anyone who wanted to speak on the issue could have spoken at the meeting.

“This was listed on our agenda,” Rainford said. “So, certainly, I mean, I’m not blinded by the fact that saw a lot of people from our medical community that spoke to this today and I just think that’s worth noting.”

On Sept. 12, the Board of County Commissioners directed the county attorney to bring back a resolution establishing Sarasota County as a Bill of Rights Sanctuary County, and the Sarasota County Medical Freedom Resolution.

The item was placed on the agenda and members of the public attended the Tuesday meeting to speak on the resolutions.

Moran made a motion and shared his appreciation for the “polite comments and testimony” on the topic after members of the public had spoken.

“What it’s all about for me, is folks being heard,” Moran said. “It’s less about a resolution and a legal document, it’s more about making sure our constituents truly understand that we’re listening to them.”

Moran said resolutions are a “true acknowledgement by elected officials, that the government works for the people not the other way around.”

Rainford said he “appreciates” the members of the public who spoke on the issue.

“When I took an oath, and I think the same with all of us sitting up here, we were pretty much agreeing to 99% of what’s in there, and, you know, whether or not that’s for this chamber or not, I’d like to see us united one way or the other in regards to this and send a clear message,” Rainford said.

During public comment, Travis Prachar, a nurse practitioner and mother, spoke in favor of the resolution.

Prachar said during the pandemic, she lost her job for “treating COVID with early treatment drugs.”

“I was told I was not allowed to prescribe these,” Prachar said. “I want to represent the small minority of medical providers who read, research and provide evidence based care.”

Prachar said she treated over 3,000 people and had no deaths.

She said she doesn’t understand how people can “read and not come up with the same conclusions – because the evidence is clear.”

“Providers need to be providers and the community needs to bring back the trust in their providers that they are doing what is right, what is evidence based, and not what is told down from marching orders from above,” Prachar said.

Dr. Michelle Scott also spoke in favor of the resolutions. She said at the beginning of the pandemic, she worked at an urgent care where she experienced “the medical tyranny that was going on.”

Scott said she was treating patients properly with drugs that she “knew to be effective,” and yet “couldn’t get pharmacies to fill the drugs without a 15-20 minute argument and bringing up the science that supported my decisions.”

She said she was forced to wear masks even though she would bring in “60 articles, which would show they did more harm than good.”

By the time she left her urgent care, she said she was “treating more side effects of the mask than COVID.”

“We are now facing total medical tyranny,” Scott said.

Scott also said the vaccine “doesn’t work” and “causes more damage than good.”

The resolutions took effective immediately upon adoption.