(The Daily Signal)—Wyoming’s governor removed a doctor from the state’s board of medicine because the doctor supported a law banning “gender-affirming care” for minors. The doctor is suing, and his lawyers are filing a motion Tuesday asking the court to reinstate him on the medical board. His legal team also revealed that more than 5,000 Wyoming residents have signed a petition asking the governor to reinstate him.
“I was removed from the Wyoming State Board of Medicine because I took a stand to protect the children in our state,” Dr. Eric Cubin, a radiologist, told The Daily Signal on Tuesday. The nonprofit law firm Liberty Justice Center is representing him. The center is best known for representing Mark Janus in the 2018 Supreme Court case Janus v. AFSCME, in which the court protected government employees’ First Amendment right of free association to refuse to financially support a union they wouldn’t join.
“I am proud to stand with the Liberty Justice Center and fight this violation of my First Amendment rights,” Cubin added.
Chloe’s Law
Cubin supported Senate File 99, also known as “Chloe’s Law,” which Gov. Mark Gordon, a Republican, signed in March.
The law, named after “detransitioner” Chloe Cole, went into effect on July 1. As a minor, Cole had surgery to try to appear more like a boy, including having her breasts removed, and a few years later, detransitioned back to identifying as her actual sex. The law prohibits doctors from prescribing experimental “transgender” medical interventions for minors, specifically banning so-called puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, and surgeries that remove healthy breasts or sex organs.
Internal documents from the World Professional Association for Transgender Health, a pro-transgender activist group, revealed that WPATH leaders knew about various side effects of “gender-affirming care,” including cancer in teens and reduced sexual function, as well as the lack of informed consent for procedures with lifelong impacts. These medical professionals endorse the experimental treatments anyway.
But some doctors have gone on record opposing such treatments. Back in 2023 in Florida, many doctors testified in favor of a rule that would prevent Medicaid dollars from funding “gender-affirming care.” The doctors—including psychiatrists, endocrinologists, neurologists, and a former WPATH leader—testified that these interventions are experimental and may do more harm than good.
Cubin, a member of the Wyoming Medical Society, sent a letter in February to every member of Wyoming’s Legislature to set the record straight after the society (a voluntary association for medical professionals in the Cowboy State) had opposed Chloe’s Law. (The society’s magazine attacked Chloe’s Law in 2023 and its executive director testified against the law that year. Cubin claims the society also opposed Chloe’s Law in 2024.)
“I had been misrepresented by the Wyoming Medical Society and had no choice but to speak up for what I believe to be right,” the doctor told The Daily Signal. “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.”
The Governor Fires Cubin
So why did Gordon, who signed Chloe’s Law, remove Cubin from the board of medicine? It seems unlikely someone who supported the legislation would move against a doctor for supporting the same bill.
First, Gordon only grudgingly signed Chloe’s Law.
“I signed SF 99 because I support the protections this bill includes for children; however, it is my belief that the government is straying into the personal affairs of families,” the governor said at the time. “Our legislature needs to sort out its intentions with regard to parental rights. While it inserts governmental prerogative in some places, it affirms parental rights in others.”
Gordon had also expressed disapproval for a bill preventing biological males from participating in girls’ sports in public schools. In March 2023, he allowed the bill, SF 133, to go into effect without his signature (refusing to veto it but also refusing to sign it). He said the bill “is overly draconian, is discriminatory without attention to individual circumstances or mitigating factors, and pays little attention to fundamental principles of equality.”
Gordon announced his intention to remove Cubin in an April 22 letter. While Gordon acknowledged the doctor’s free speech right to express his opinion, he insisted that the five-member board of medicine must remain impartial. The board is responsible for issuing and renewing licenses for physicians and other medical practitioners in the state, along with overseeing medical regulation, compliance, and discipline.
“I have been made aware of your email to the members of the House of Representatives during this last legislative session regarding SF0099, in which you strongly encouraged the members to pass this legislation and criticized the Wyoming Medical Society’s opposition to the bill,” Gordon wrote.
“I believe your comments on this particular legislation could give doctors, who are licensed by the board of medicine, a reason to be concerned that you might use your position to advocate for a particular position when considering matters that should be considered absent an agenda or prejudice,” the governor added.
“I am certain you would understand that while you certainly are entitled to your First Amendment right to free speech, as an individual member of the board, you would not be entitled to speak for the board unilaterally,” Gordon wrote. He suggested that Cubin had chosen to “express personal beliefs in a way that can be construed as speaking for the [board as a whole],” and therefore he was removing the doctor.
Cubin’s Response
Cubin’s lawsuit offers a thorough rebuttal of Gordon’s claims.
The radiologist did not decide to support Chloe’s Law publicly for no reason, and he did not present his support as representative of the board of medicine.
Cubin only decided to reach out to the House of Representatives himself because the Wyoming Medical Society, which had opposed Chloe’s Law, refused to clarify to the Legislature that its opposition to the law did not represent all doctors who are members of the society.
According to the lawsuit, Cubin emailed the society’s executive director, Sheila Bush, on Feb. 21, expressing his concerns about the society’s opposition to the law. “Cubin thought it unlikely that WMS’s stance reflected the views of the vast majority of its members, and asked whether WMS could present physicians’ views on both sides of the issue regarding Chloe’s Law,” the lawsuit states.
Bush responded to the doctor by reiterating the society’s position but did not address his request for a more balanced position. The president of the society’s board of trustees also emailed Cubin, restating the position. Cubin responded with an email to the society’s board, once again asking that the society conduct a poll of its members on the issue. According to the lawsuit, the radiologist repeatedly asked the society to fairly represent doctors who support Chloe’s Law, and the society repeatedly refused.
The doctor then sent his email to the Legislature, and in doing so, he “made very clear … that he was representing himself, and not [the society] or the Wyoming Board of Medicine.”
“Dr. Cubin’s email to the Wyoming House of Representatives as a private citizen did not cause any disruption to the normal functioning of the board in carrying out its official duties and obligations under Wyoming law,” the lawsuit states.
Cubin also claims that previous members of the state board have testified before the Wyoming Legislature on controversial issues, and “never received similar retribution from the governor.”
The lawsuit notes that Rene Hinkle, then a board member, testified before the Wyoming Legislature against giving life-saving care to infants born alive after botched abortions, and Gordon reappointed her to the board of medicine afterward.
The Lawsuit
The radiologist sued the governor on Aug. 29 in the U.S. District Court of Wyoming, alleging that the governor retaliated against him for expressing his First Amendment rights of free speech and to petition the government. He also alleged the governor violated the Wyoming Constitution, which also protects free speech and petition rights.
Gordon filed a response to the complaint, contesting Cubin’s claim that he did not intend to speak for the board of medicine in sending his letter.
On Tuesday, the Liberty Justice Center is filing a motion for a preliminary injunction, asking the court to order Gordon to reinstate Cubin until the case is decided. Cubin’s term had been set to expire in 2028.
The Liberty Justice Center also announced that Honor Wyoming, a Cowboy State nonprofit, delivered more than 5,300 petitions to Gordon, asking him to reinstate the radiologist.
“What Gov. Gordon did to Dr. Cubin has become a major grassroots issue in Wyoming,” David Scheurn, director of grassroots and coalition development at Honor Wyoming, said in a statement first provided to The Daily Signal on Tuesday. “People are tired of political elites of all stripes abusing their authority. The level of support we’ve seen for Dr. Cubin has been unparalleled.”
“We are honored to be hand-delivering over 5,300 petitions by Wyoming residents asking Gov. Gordon to reinstate Dr. Cubin,” Scheurn added. “I think this reaction is a real testament to the character of this state and to its citizens’ refusal to be bullied by elected leaders.”