Matt Lamb, associate editor of The College Fix, says Dr. Allan Josephson worked at the University of Louisville Medical School in Kentucky until his firing in 2019.
"He turned around this child psychiatry department when he came in about two decades ago," Lamb details. "But then he made some comments critical of providing transgender drugs and surgeries to minors at an event at The Heritage Foundation."
During his lecture about treatments for childhood gender dysphoria, Dr. Josephson stated, in his professional opinion, that "transgender ideology… is neglectful of the need for developing coping skills and problem solving skills in children."
The school contends that Dr. Josephson's dismissal was justified and his First Amendment protection was negated because he made his comments in his role as a medical school professor – even though the university did not ask, require, or pay him to present at the event.
But even if he had made those statements in his position as a medical professor, Lamb says his firing would still be concerning.
"It's perfectly appropriate for a psychiatry professor to offer his public opinion about approaches to individuals who have mental health problems," the editor contends. "That's what psychiatrists are supposed to do."
Dr. Josephson, who is represented by Alliance Defending Freedom, wants financial compensation and to get his faculty job back at the University of Louisville. He will likely hear in the next several months if the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals will allow him to pursue his claims against the medical school officials who played a role in his ouster.
