A prominent child psychiatrist has won a lawsuit after being abruptly fired for comments about gender dysphoria.
Dr. Allan Josephson, 72, was chosen to head the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Louisville more than 20 years ago.
In 2017, Josephson expressed concerns about the gender-based treatment of children, leading to her firing in 2019.
After being hit with a federal free speech lawsuit, the Kentucky school argued it was within its rights to fire Josephson over criticisms made at a Heritage Foundation panel.
Lawyers for the university claimed that his personal comments were related to his professional role at the medical school and therefore preempted their First Amendment claim.
Now that he has been vindicated, his message to the academic world is that “tolerance is a two-way street.”
In 2017, Dr. Allan Josephson, 72, expressed caution about gender-based treatments for children, leading to his dismissal from the Kentucky school in 2019.
The decorated scholar was chosen to lead the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Louisville in 2003. In 2019, he was fired. On Sept. 10, he won a federal lawsuit alleging he was wrongfully fired for speaking publicly about gender dysphoria.
“Last year, in a case I brought against the University of Louisville … alleging violation of my constitutional rights and seeking reinstatement of my position with back pay, a federal district court ruled that a jury should hear my claims,” Josephson wrote in an op-ed for the Daily Signal on Thursday.
‘And on September 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit agreed.’
The former head of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology went on to cite the ruling that exonerated him, after a long legal battle that lasted more than a year.
At its climax, the legal experts held that “Josephson had shown that he engaged in protected speech when he spoke as part of the Heritage Foundation panel.
“Defendants should have known that Josephson’s speech was protected and that retaliating against Josephson for his speech would violate his First Amendment rights,” he continued.
‘The Sixth Circuit recognized what the University of Louisville does not; namely, that under our Constitution, all of us – professors or not – must be free to express our professional and personal opinions without fear of punishment or retaliation.’
Yet that was exactly what the psychiatrist found in the fall of 2017, after asserting the need to begin uncovering the cause of the children’s “transgender” confusion and resolve any emotional issues before considering risky treatments.
The statement came after Josephson on Thursday faced a question she called “direct and timely”: “What is the best way to treat children diagnosed with gender dysphoria?”
The Kentucky school argued that it was within its rights to fire Josephson over the criticisms, which were aired at a Heritage Foundation panel in 2017 (see here).
He replied: ‘This is a sociocultural psychological phenomenon, and the fact that we’re talking about using medicine to solve it, uh, I’m trying to remember, it’s kind of a joke.
‘The guy who was looking for his wallet lost his wallet, he lost his wallet, and someone said to him, “Well, you lost it on the street. Why aren’t you looking there?” he continued.
He said, “Well, this is where the light is.”
“The real problem is down there,” Josephson said then, before pointing out the proverbial problem.
“I’m here for two reasons,” he insisted. “One: I’m committed to the idea that parents and children need help. And they’re not getting it because of this phenomenon.
“I’m not going to use the word abuse,” she continued, “but I want you to think for a few moments about the idea of neglect.
‘I’ll give you some examples of why this is a negligent phenomenon, which neglects the developmental needs of children.’
“I’m also here because I believe that truth matters,” he said. “There are a number of things that are simply not true in the sociological phenomenon.”
The fall 2017 event was not associated with the school and featured experts like Josephson who spoke about the phenomenon and the public response.
He went on to explain how in recent years “this thing has just multiplied,” before reciting a statement from an authoritative doctor on the matter.
The doctor, he said, wrote that “the cost of not assigning sex is terrible” and that “it is contrary to medical science to use chromosomes, hormones, internal reproductive organs, external genitalia (and) secondary sexual characteristics to override gender identity in order to classify someone as male or female.”
“Gender identity should govern when an individual needs to be classified,” the doctor went on to write, prompting Josephson to express disbelief.
“I was stunned when I read that,” he said, saying the claim was “contrary to medical science, chromosomes, anatomy, physiology (and) genetics.”
“This is medical science,” she proclaimed. “This is how we categorize things, but should that take a backseat to this feeling, to this notion of gender identity?”
“It’s incredible,” he concluded.
For this, the University of Louisville fired him, after first demoting him from the role of division head he assumed in 2003 and stripping him of his teaching duties.
In his Daily Signal article, Josephson wrote how he had been “ostracized” and “subjected to other forms of hostility” as faculty members demanded that he apologize for his views on transgender issues, though without specifying to whom.
Lawyers for the school had argued that Josephson’s personal comments were related to his professional role at the university’s medical school and therefore outweighed their First Amendment claim. The argument did not sway the judge.
“Others remained silent, knowing which way the cultural winds were blowing,” Josephson recalled.
“I was stunned to realize that I was actually being punished for doing what I was paid to do: think and talk.”
About a year later, the university declined to renew his contract; “in effect, I was fired,” he wrote Thursday.
“Professionally speaking, I had strong reservations about these transgender policies and I said so,” she continued.
‘That was after 14 successful years of rebuilding and leading the division, three years with perfect evaluations, no interruptions in the division’s work and no problems recruiting new faculty.
“I was not fired for poor management, poor teaching, or unprofessional conduct,” he continued. “The university terminated my career because I chose not to take advantage of the current wave of social activism, because I expressed opinions—supported by scientific literature and clinical experience—that the university considered politically incorrect.”
“In my case, activism triumphed over academic thinking,” he proclaimed.
“Worse still, because of what happened to me, our university communicated to students and faculty things that should be unthinkable in higher education,” he continued. “Don’t ask questions or listen to anyone who has a different point of view.”
“I was not fired for poor management, poor teaching or unprofessional conduct,” Josephson said after the win. “The university ended my career because I chose not to take advantage of the current wave of social activism.”
“These are the worst possible lessons we can teach those who will one day lead our communities or care for vulnerable patients,” she concluded, days after winning the case.
Travis Barham, a senior attorney at the nonprofit that represented Josephson, Alliance Defending Freedom, also celebrated the victory.
“Dr. Josephson had a long and distinguished career at the University of Louisville, leading and rebuilding its child psychiatry program,” the attorney wrote in a statement.
‘In his spare time, he spoke out about treatments for children with sexual difficulties, and the university punished him for expressing his opinion.
‘That is exactly what the First Amendment prohibits, and when public universities ignore our nation’s most important law, they must be held accountable.
“We look forward to continuing to protect Dr. Josephson’s clearly established right to free speech and reminding all public universities that they are marketplaces of ideas.”
The University of Louisville, whose LGBT center complained to the school about Josephson, has not yet issued a statement in response.
