Professor vindicated after dismissal for criticising child gender surgery

A US professor of child psychology has been vindicated after losing his job for saying children should not undergo ‘sex-swap’ surgery.

In 2017, Dr Allan Josephson of Louisville, Kentucky was invited to speak at an event hosted by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, on procedures for young people with gender dysphoria.

Shortly after, Dr Josephson was demoted and stripped of his teaching duties by the University of Louisville. Then, after enduring over a year of harassment and ostracism for his views, he was let go.

Rejected views

At the 2017 event, Dr Josephson spoke about his experience in the field, both as a medical professional and as an expert witness, in several legal cases regarding gender-confused children.

When asked about medical transitioning he said: “You don’t affirm a bad idea”, and instead encouraged medics to address the underlying cause of the dysphoria.

Following the event, the Louisville LGBT centre complained, claiming the professor “might be violating the ethical standards of psychiatry”.

Dr Toni Ganzel, the School of Medicine’s Dean at the time, stated that Dr Josephson’s view “doesn’t reflect the culture we are trying so hard to promote”.

Unfair treatment

The university terminated his contract, despite 14 successful years leading the Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology Department.

Dr Josephson explained: “I wasn’t fired for poor management, teaching, or unprofessional conduct”.

He continued: “The university ended my career because I elected not to surf the current wave of social activism,  because I expressed views – supported by scientific literature and clinical experience – that the university found politically incorrect”.

He said, by what happened to him, the university communicated to students and faculty: “Don’t ask questions or listen to anyone with a different point of view”.

Court ruling

The professor sued the university for violation of his constitutional rights, and the jury in an appeals court ruled in his favour.

The jurors determined: “Defendants should have known that Josephson’s speech was protected and that retaliating against Josephson for his speech would violate his First Amendment rights.”

Travis Barham, a senior counsel from Alliance Defending Freedom said “when public universities disregard our nation’s highest 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.”