The University of Louisville has agreed to pay nearly $1.6 million in settlement fees to a child psychiatrist who they fired for saying medical professionals should address the underlying root of a child’s gender confusion before treating them with harmful drugs, hormones, and irreversible surgeries.
Dr. Allan Josephson’s settlement comes six years after filing a lawsuit against the University of Louisville in Kentucky with the help of the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF).
In 2017, the former chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology spoke at an event sponsored by the Heritage Foundation. The forum addressed how to best treat children with gender dysphoria.
According to the ADF, a non-profit legal group, Josephson spoke in his personal capacity during a panel discussion about his views on children experiencing gender dysphoria. As a result of his comments, the school “demoted, harassed, and ultimately fired” him for “speaking out on the harms of ‘transitioning’ children.”
In his own words, Josephson said the retribution was swift.
“As a medical professional who cares about my patients, my answer was simple, obvious, and innocuous. We must start by finding out the cause of the child’s ‘transgender’ confusion and resolving any emotional problems before considering more invasive, risky treatments,” Josephson explained, writing for the Daily Signal.
“It seemed a reasonable enough response,” he continued. “According to the scientific method, every study begins with questions. One of the first is: ‘Why?'”
“That is, and always has been, Medicine 101,” Josephson wrote. “But in the days following my remarks, no one asked whether my suggestion made sense or about my experience and observations in dealing with children who suffer dysphoria. Instead, people leapt to conclusions about my stance on transgender issues.”
Josephson says the “red flags” went up quickly.
***Please sign up for CBN Newsletters to ensure you keep receiving the latest updates from a distinctly Christian perspective.***
“Officials at the LGBT Center initiated a campaign to have me punished. Some colleagues became upset. People suddenly noticed that I had served as an expert witness in cases where school officials were opening showers, restrooms, and locker rooms to students based on their professed gender identity, rather than their biological sex,” he explained.
“More red flags: Some faculty demanded that I apologize for my views on transgender issues—but they didn’t say to whom. Others remained silent, knowing which way the cultural winds were blowing. I was stunned to realize I was actually being punished for doing what I was paid to do; namely, think and speak.”
Josephson said that after 14 years of building a successful program at the school, he was demoted within a matter of weeks after speaking at the Heritage event, ultimately ending his 40-year career.
“The university ended my career because I elected not to surf the current wave of social activism,” he expressed.
Josephson said his termination wasn’t the most egregious infraction, but believes the “university communicated to students and faculty things that should be unthinkable in higher education: ‘Don’t ask questions or listen to anyone with a different point of view.'”
In a lawsuit filed against the school, ADF argued the university violated Josephson’s freedom of speech and other constitutionally protected freedoms.
In September of last year, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit ruled that Josephson’s case should proceed to trial, declaring public university officials can be held personally accountable for censoring professors or retaliating against them as the University of Louisville was accused of doing in Josephson’s case.
ADF announced earlier this week that the school has agreed to settle the case, paying Josephson almost $1.6 million in damages and attorneys’ fees.
“Public universities have no business punishing professors simply because they hold different views,” said ADF Senior Counsel Travis Barham. “Dr. Josephson’s case illustrates why—because the latest and best science confirms what he stated all along. Hopefully, other public universities will learn from this that if they violate the First Amendment, they can be held accountable, and it can be very expensive.”
Josephson said he is glad to “finally receive vindication for voicing” the truth.
“Children deserve better than life-altering procedures that mutilate their bodies and destroy their ability to lead fulfilling lives,” Josephson expressed.
He added, “In spite of the circumstances I suffered through with my university, I’m overwhelmed to see that my case helped lead the way for other medical practitioners to see the universal truth that altering biological sex is impossibly dangerous while acceptance of one’s sex leads to flourishing.”
