University pays $1.6M after professor fired for opposing sex-change surgeries for kids
April 29, 2025
The University of Louisville has agreed to pay $1.6 million in damages and attorney’s fees to a former professor who was fired for speaking out against gender-related body-mutilating surgeries for minors.
The Christian Post reports that former psychology professor Allen Josephson was terminated in Feb 2019 over his criticism of so-called gender-care surgeries on trans-identified youth during a 2017 panel discussion.
Josephson was demoted following the panel discussion hosted by the conservative public policy think tank Heritage Foundation.
A federal appeals court ruled last September that Josephson could proceed with a lawsuit and that university officials could be held personally liable for his firing.
Josephson, who was represented by the Alliance Defending Freedom, said, “I’m glad to finally receive vindication for voicing what I know is true. Children deserve better than life-altering procedures that mutilate their bodies and destroy their ability to lead fulfilling lives.”
Travis Barham, senior counsel at Alliance Defending Freedom, described the win as a “major victory” for free speech and common sense.”
Barham stated, “As early as 2014, Dr. Josephson saw the truth behind dangerous procedures that activists were pushing on children struggling with their sex. He risked his livelihood and his reputation to speak the truth boldly, and the university punished him for expressing his opinion — ultimately by dismissing him.”
Barham said Josephson’s case illustrates why “Public universities have no business punishing professors simply because they hold different views.”
Josephsen commented, “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.”
According to the Christian Post, more than two dozen states have passed legislation to ban certain “gender-affirming” procedures and drugs for minors over concerns about their long-term effects.
Photo: top, Credit: Alliance Defending Freedom