Dr. Eric Cubin isn’t going away, even if Gov. Mark Gordon wants him to.
Cubin filed a lawsuit Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Wyoming against Gordon for forcing him off the Wyoming Board of Medicine in April.
Gordon pushed him off because of Cubin’s public support of a law banning transgender medical treatments and surgeries on minors, formerly known as Chloe’s Law. Gordon ended up signing the bill into law.
The Liberty Justice Center, a nonprofit advocacy group representing Cubin in the lawsuit on a pro bono basis, said in a Thursday press release that the removal violated Cubin’s First Amendment free speech rights and right to petition. It requests a court order reinstating Cubin to the board.
“I was removed from the Wyoming State Board of Medicine because I took a stand to protect the children in our state,” Cubin said in the press release. “I had been misrepresented by the Wyoming Medical Society and had no choice but to speak up for what I believe to be right.”
Cubin, a Casper radiologist, was removed from the board because of communications he made lobbying state legislators to pass Chloe’s Law while he was a member of the Board of Medicine. This came after his multiple failed efforts to try and convince Wyoming Medical Society leadership to change its opposition to the bill.
In a subsequent letter to state legislators, he called the Medical Society, of which he is a member, “woke” and taken over by “extremely liberal” members.
“I urged our legislators to be circumspect about the information they were being provided and cautious about what they allow physicians to do to kids in our state — something that is now the law across Wyoming,” Cubin said in the press release.
Michael Pearlman, a spokesperson for the governor, said Gordon is not going to comment on pending litigation.
The Liberty Justice Center argues that Gordon infringed on Cubin’s First Amendment rights through retaliation. It also argues that Cubin has a protected right to petition elected representatives and give his opinion on matters, backed by the Wyoming and U.S. Constitutions.
“I think it’s a very important case,” Buck Dougherty, senior counsel at the Liberty Justice Center, told Cowboy State Daily. “Just because someone is appointed to the Board of Medicine does not mean you forfeit your rights to speak on legislation.”
Cubin argues in the filing that his removal from the board has caused him economic injury and harm to his professional reputation.
What Happened?
Cubin resigned from the board after being told by the governor he would remove him.
Gordon forced Cubin from the board as a result of an email the doctor wrote, which the governor said could have given the impression to the public that he has a conflict of interest on the issue of transgender care and was speaking on behalf of the board.
Under the law, which passed the Legislature and was signed by Gordon less than a month after Cubin sent his email, the Wyoming Board of Medicine, of which Cubin was a member, can revoke a physician’s license if he or she has offered any “gender-affirming care” to children in Wyoming.
Gordon mentioned how Cubin would have played a role in determining the future licenses of practitioners who broke the law if he was kept on the board.
Cubin never said he was speaking on behalf of the board when he sent his email and argues in the court filing that the email had no impact on the functions of the board.
In his termination letter to Cubin, Gordon said although he respects Cubin’s right to free speech, the governor felt the doctor’s comments showed a clear bias that could give Wyoming doctors licensed by the board “a reason to be concerned that you might use your position to advocate for a particular position” when topics like these should be addressed without prejudice.
“Medical professionals should be confident that their licensure, which is their livelihood, will be handled professionally and clinically examined on merits alone,” Gordon writes in his April 22 letter. “Even the appearance of bias can be disquieting as well as erode confidence in the board’s presumed impartiality.”
Kris Schamber, president of the Medical Society, told Cowboy State Daily in May that Cubin’s comments were “misleading and accusatory.”
“Governor Gordon unlawfully retaliated against Dr. Cubin for exercising his First Amendment rights,” said Dougherty. “People who serve in government positions do not lose their right to speak out on important issues. We look forward to holding the governor accountable for his actions in court.”
What Does He Want?
The Liberty Justice Center requests Cubin have his seat reinstated on the board, a declaratory judgment be made that Gordon violated Cubin’s free speech and right to petition, and monetary damages to be awarded as to be determined.
Dougherty said the 1968 U.S. Supreme Court case Pickering v. Board of Education holds a highly significant precedent for Cubin’s lawsuit. In that case, it was determined an Illinois school teacher, Marvin Pickering, had his First Amendment rights violated when he was fired for writing a letter in a local newspaper criticizing his local school board for the spending decisions it made.
“You can’t violate their constitutional rights if you speak out on a matter of public concern,” Dougherty said. “You can’t retaliate against them.”
Leo Wolfson can be reached at leo@cowboystatedaily.com.
