A former professor at the University of Louisville who was fired after criticizing transgender surgeries for minors is set to receive a $1.6 million settlement from the school.
Dr. Allan Josephson, a child psychiatrist who headed the university’s Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology for 14 years, claimed he was demoted in 2017 and eventually fired in 2019 for comments he made on a Heritage Foundation panel in 2017. On the panel, Josephson said that “you don’t affirm a bad idea” in a discussion on transgender surgeries and hormone treatments for minors.
In response to the firing, Josephson filed a lawsuit against the university in federal district court, with the backing of the Alliance Defending Freedom. The group announced earlier this week that Josephson secured a $1.6 million settlement to resolve the lawsuit.
“I’m glad to finally receive vindication for voicing what I know is true,” Josephson said in a statement. “Children deserve better than life-altering procedures that mutilate their bodies and destroy their ability to lead fulfilling lives.”
“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,” he added.
ADF senior counsel Travis Barham also championed the settlement as a warning to other universities seeking to silence professors.
“He risked his livelihood and reputation to speak the truth boldly, and the university punished him for expressing his opinion—ultimately by dismissing him,” Barham said in a statement. “But public universities have no business punishing professors simply because they hold different views. 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,” Barham added.
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Both sides in the lawsuit filed a joint stipulation Monday in federal court requesting the dismissal of the litigation with prejudice, meaning it may not be refiled.
A federal appeals court allowed the case to proceed in a ruling last year, but Monday’s joint stipulation and reported settlement mean the case will avoid a trial.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
