Dr. Mary Talley Bowden testified before both chambers of Texas’ legislature on April 1 and 2, expressing support for a bill currently under consideration.

“I support [HB 3455] primarily as a step in rebuilding trust. The lack of transparency and accountability surrounding the events of the pandemic led to widespread vaccine hesitancy. I see it all the time in my private practice, and I believe, with good reason. Vaccines are not subjected to the same medical scrutiny that other medical products are subjected to,” Bowden testified before the House Judiciary & Civil Jurisprudence Committee on April 2.

The Houston-based Ear, Nose, and Throat (ENT) specialist said that 7% of her new patients in the two years following the pandemic complained of vaccine injuries.

“I’ve never seen anything like it,” Bowden said before describing some of her patients’ conditions as “debilitating.”

The law states, “A manufacturer of an experimental drug or device shall provide to a purchaser of the drug or device a disclosure form that provides a consumer all information reasonably necessary for the consumer to make an informed decision on whether to use the drug or device, including possible adverse health effects of the drug or device, in a clear and coherent summary.”

It also provides for a consumer who receives an experimental drug or device in violation of the law to bring legal action and claim compensatory and exemplary damages, as well as lawyer’s fees.

During her testimony, Bowden recalled that Houston Methodist Hospital was the first major medical institution in the country to begin requiring COVID-19 vaccines for employees in early 2021.

She had previously discussed this concern with The Dallas Express. Bowden had admittance privileges at Methodist at the time, and the mandate caused a fallout between the parties. The doctor publicly criticized the mandate on X. Then, through the press, she discovered that her admittance privileges had been suspended.

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Bowden responded by severing all ties to the hospital. Subsequently, Methodist reported her to the Texas Medical Board for resigning while under investigation.

Yet, Bowden countered, “Houston Methodist has never provided any evidence I was under investigation. They’ve just said I was under investigation.”

Another complaint that would be set in motion against Bowden later that year was when she attempted to treat a COVID-infected, hospitalized sheriff’s deputy with ivermectin at the pleadings of the ailing man’s wife. Fort Worth’s Huguley Hospital denied Bowden admittance privileges, and after a prolonged legal battle, the doctor never treated the deputy.

Bowden and representatives from the Texas Medical Board, along with other doctors who suffered complaints related to the pandemic era, spoke to the Senate.

Seated next to Bowden was Brint Carlton, the executive director of the Texas Medical Board. The Board’s questioning of Carlton began with Senators Lois Kolkhorst (R-Brenham) and Bob Hall (R-Rockwall) asking how many COVID-era cases were still pending against doctors.

Carlton said he was unsure and noted that the Board never pursued a case against a doctor solely for prescribing ivermectin or hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19. He stated that each case the Board pursued concerned something like inadequate record-keeping or a failure on the part of the physician to receive satisfactory consent from the patient.

Hall countered his concern by saying, “You start with one charge, and then you work your way through trying to find something that you could make stick.” He asked if any patient had actually suffered harm.

Carlton responded, “I’m not aware of any patient that was harmed, but there are still requirements for documentation and informed consent.”

The senators grilled Carlton as he defended the Board’s case against Bowden. When Carlton argued that the State Office of Administrative Hearings (SOAH) had partially ruled against Bowden, Senator Charles Perry (R-Lubbock) hit back that “someone here is lying” and that SOAH “does not bear any weight. They are with the state 95% of the time.”

Senator Kelly Hancock (R-Fort Worth) asked why ivermectin is listed numerous times in the complaint against Bowden if the complaint had nothing to do with the drug. Carlton said the Board had only added ivermectin for context.

Kolkhorst thanked Bowden for being a dissenting doctor during the pandemic who did not follow the prevailing treatment protocols being pushed during that period. The senator explained that her husband had been diagnosed with a severe case of COVID-19, and his situation did not improve until he took a treatment regimen of inhaled budesonide and other drugs that were hotly debated during that period.