Surgeon General Ladapo is a Backward Practitioner of Medieval Medicine, Asserts TWO
Delray Beach, FL— Truth Wins Out today strongly condemned the State of Florida for announcing plans to end its vaccine mandate, including for schoolchildren. The dangerous initiative, spearheaded by Gov. Ron DeSantis and Surgeon General Dr. Joseph A. Ladapo, represents a cynical attempt to score political points at the expense of Floridians’ lives.
It also represents a dangerous incursion of church into state–with modern science pushed aside for medieval “medicine”. This is what happens when the positive value of religious freedom is warped by religious fanaticism. Ladapo justified his policy by stating, “Your body is a gift from God”. TWO would like to know which science book that phrase came from? It sure sounds like Ladapo thinks he’s Florida’s chief pastor, rather than its top physician.
“Ending vaccine mandates is as reckless as it is dangerous,” said Truth Wins Out Executive Director Wayne Besen. “Gov. DeSantis is gambling with the health and safety of Floridians for political gain, while Dr. Ladapo peddles medieval medicine dressed up as policy. Instead of defending science and protecting the people of Florida, these leaders are pandering to a fringe ideology rooted in fanaticism.”
Playing Politics with Public Health
Florida’s retreat from evidence-based medicine continues a disturbing pattern in which DeSantis has prioritized politics over public health. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he turned the state into a testing ground for anti-science experimentation—promoting ineffective treatments, challenging mask mandates, and undermining vaccines.
The decision also sends a chilling message to the rest of the nation: that political ideology can override science in shaping health policy. By dismantling mandates, Florida risks becoming a breeding ground for outbreaks that could spread nationwide.
“This is not just about Florida,” Besen said. “When one state abandons vaccines, it undermines the progress we’ve made across the country in eradicating deadly diseases. The recklessness of DeSantis and Ladapo jeopardizes the health of millions beyond state borders.”
Truth Wins Out urges Floridians to demand accountability from their leaders and to speak out against the dismantling of life-saving mandates. The organization calls on national medical associations, civil rights groups, and policymakers to resist Florida’s dangerous experiment before it spreads to other states.
“We will not stand silently while extremist politicians play Russian roulette with our health,” Besen concluded. “Science must guide policy—not superstition, not political opportunism, and not religious zealotry. The people of Florida deserve leaders who value their lives more than their political ambitions.”
Media Contact:
Contact: Wayne Besen, Executive Director
Email: WBesen@truthwinsout.org
About Truth Wins Out
Truth Wins Out is a 501c3 nonprofit organization that works to advance liberty and democracy, protect the rights of LGBTQ people and other minorities, combat religious extremism, and fight against the spread of disinformation.