Casper doctor sues Gordon, says comments against gender-affirming care for kids cost him his position

By David Velazquez

Casper Star-Tribune

Via Wyoming News Exchange

CASPER —A Casper doctor is suing Gov. Mark Gordon following his resignation from the Wyoming Medical board in April. Dr. Eric Cubin of Casper alleges that Gordon retaliated against him, violated his first amendment rights and caused him reputational and professional harm. 

Cubin in the suit states that Gordon forced him off the Wyoming Medical Board because he publicly supported a bill that banned gender-affirming care for minors. 

Gordon, in his letter informing Cubin he was going to be removed, stated that he respects Cubin’s rights to free speech, but the board he sat on is meant to be unbiased and even the appearance of bias could erode trust in the board. 

News of Cubin’s removal of the board generated attention from international media outlets. 

The suit was filed in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming on Thursday and is additionally requesting that Cubin be reinstated to the board. 

Personal email 

Cubin was first appointed to the State’s Medical Board in February — making him one of five physicians on the eight-member board tasked with overseeing medical regulations, compliance and discipline. Board members are all appointed by the governor and they serve in four-year terms.

The Wyoming Medical Society, during the Legislative session earlier this year, publicly opposed a bill that prohibits gender-affirming care for children. The proposed bill became law in July. 

The suit states that Cubin “thought it unlikely that WMS’s stance reflected the view of the vast majority of its members, and asked whether WMS could present physicians’ views on both sides of the issue.” 

The suit alleges that requests for a “more balanced presentation” of the law to leadership of the WMS went unanswered and that a request for a poll on the issue was not conducted. 

Days later, Cubin sent an email to each legislator in the Wyoming House of Representatives using a personal email account, expressing his support for the bill and criticizing the Wyoming Medical Society. 

“It saddens me very much to have to report that, under their current leadership, the Wyoming Medical Society has been essentially hijacked by the far left,” Cubin wrote in his email. “Quite frankly, I refuse to believe that the majority of physicians in this very conservative state agree with this position — and we were never polled. This position was established by several very vocal, extremely liberal members of the Board.” 

The suit alleges that Cubin was acting as a private citizen in his email and that he did not cause any disruption to the normal functioning of the board on which he served. 

Gordon’s response 

In April, Gordon sent a letter to Cubin stating that it would be best to remove him from the Board of Medicine. The reasoning behind the removal of Cubin was that bias could raise concerns over the objectivity of the board. 

“Nonetheless, no matter what anyone’s personal expressed beliefs may be, it is important that the professionals governed by the Board of Medicine have confidence that board members prosecute their responsibilities on the board in an objective and unbiased way,” Gordon wrote in his letter. “Even the appearance of bias can be disquieting as well as erode confidence in the Board’s presumed impartiality’. 

Gordon in his letter added that Cubin is entitled to his first amendment right to free speech and that it was never his intention to prevent him from expressing his own views, but that some people might not be able to distinguish his personal comments from those of the board. 

“It has never been my intention to inhibit your own ability to express your views unabashedly or to confuse anyone’s personal opinions and beliefs with those of any of our boards,” Gordon wrote. “Therefore, as I have done before, when a member of a board chooses to express personal beliefs in a way that can be construed as speaking for the body, I have elected to relieve that member of the constraints board membership requires.” 

The suit reiterated that Cubin never claimed to speak for the Wyoming Medical Board and that other medical board members have testified before the legislature more directly. 

The suit 

The suit filed against Gordon, in both his personal and official capacities, includes three separate counts each with different allegations and requests. 

Each count orders that Cubin be restated to the Wyoming Board of Medicine and requests that a declaratory judgment be issued finding that Gordon violated Cubin’s free speech rights and his right to petition under the first amendment. 

Two of the counts also seek monetary damages for the deprivation of Cubin’s First Amendment free speech rights. 

Cubin is being represented by the Liberty Justice Center, a constitutional rights group that often fights for conservative issues. 

“I was removed from the Wyoming State Board of Medicine because I took a stand to protect the children in our state. 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 said in a press release by the Liberty Justice Center.

This story was published on September 5, 2024.