Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed SB 700 into regulation Tuesday, eliminating the flexibility of native governments so as to add fluoride or different medical components to the state’s public water provide, a transfer cheered by supporters of medical freedom and well being transparency.
“Jamming fluoride within the water provide … is basically a compelled remedy,” DeSantis stated throughout a information convention in Tallahassee. “On the finish of the day, we should always all agree that folks deserve knowledgeable consent.”
The brand new regulation, a part of the broader Florida Farm Bill, doesn’t ban fluoride completely.
Floridians will nonetheless be capable to buy fluoridated water from personal suppliers. Nevertheless it attracts a agency line towards the federal government deciding what goes in your glass with out your say.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks throughout a information convention April 10, 2025, in Miami, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Pictures)
“When it will get scorching within the Sunshine State, nobody clamors for a chilly glass of fluoride,” state Sen. Keith Truenow instructed Fox Information Digital. “We are going to defend our pure sources and provides Floridians the flexibility to make the most effective selections with out authorities forcing pointless components.”
Florida Agriculture Commissioner Wilton Simpson, who joined DeSantis on the signing, emphasised that this isn’t about denying individuals fluoride, however making certain they aren’t medicated with out consent.
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“Immediately, Florida took a daring step and declared that consuming water will hydrate, not medicate,” Simpson stated in a press release to Fox Information Digital.
“No Floridian must be medicated with out their consent, plain and easy. By way of our Florida Farm Invoice, we’re saying loud and clear: Florida’s water might be clear, will probably be secure and will probably be medication-free. That’s what freedom appears like within the Free State of Florida.”
The trouble aligns with the nationwide “Make America Healthy Again” motion led by Well being and Human Companies Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. His initiative emphasizes shopper selection, lowered reliance on centralized well being mandates and a renewed skepticism of top-down medical insurance policies.
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis speaks throughout a information convention April 10, 2025, in Miami, Fla. (Joe Raedle/Getty Pictures)
“Immediately’s efforts to ban native governments from unilaterally including fluoride to public consuming water is the logical subsequent iteration of our dedication to being the Free State of Florida,” stated Bryan Griffin, communications director for DeSantis. “And Ron DeSantis has delivered but once more.”
DeSantis additionally tied the transfer to a rising public mistrust of medical establishments, citing the fallout from COVID-era policies.
“Persons are simply far more skeptical when these elites try to jam something down our throats,” he stated. “The burden is on them to show why this must be compelled on individuals. And it actually shouldn’t be.”
The laws additionally contains broad assist for Florida’s agriculture sector, new shopper transparency legal guidelines and restrictions on environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices that concentrate on farmers and ranchers.
DeSantis has additionally promised motion on geoengineering.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and President Donald Trump (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Pictures)
“Florida is just not a testing floor for geoengineering,” DeSantis wrote on X Tuesday. “The Free State of Florida means freedom from governments or personal actors unilaterally making use of chemical substances or geoengineering to individuals or public areas.”
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Critics of SB 700 argue fluoridation has lengthy been used to combat tooth decay, significantly in kids.
However DeSantis pointed to up to date steerage from State Surgeon Common Joseph Ladapo, who raised issues about fluoride’s results on pregnant ladies and kids.
“You don’t even must agree with that evaluation,” the governor stated, “however individuals ought to nonetheless have the fitting to decide out.”
Kennedy didn’t instantly reply to Fox Information Digital’s request for remark.