When Doctors Speak Out, Institutions Strike Back

What happens to medical professionals who speak out against the medical mutilation of minors?

The University of Louisville has agreed to pay Dr. Allan Josephson nearly $1.6 million to settle his lawsuit after demoting, harassing, and ultimately firing him—not for misconduct or malpractice, but for daring to speak publicly, in his personal capacity, against the medical mutilation of minors.

Dr. Josephson is a nationally recognized psychiatrist. The university hired him to lead its Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology. Under his leadership, the struggling program became an acclaimed center of excellence with national prestige.

But in October 2017, Dr. Josephson spoke at a panel hosted by the Heritage Foundation, where he expressed his professional concern and personal opposition to the so-called “gender-affirming care” being inflicted on children—procedures like puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, double mastectomies, and genital surgeries. These are irreversible interventions that cause permanent damage like sterility, castration, and anorgasmia. Ethical d…