Physician Free Speech Claims Revived

Denver, CO. – July 23, 2026

On July 21, 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit issued its decision in Cubin v. Gordon (25-8021), partially reversing the district court’s judgment and reviving Dr. Eric Cubin’s First Amendment retaliation claims against Wyoming Governor Mark Gordon in his official capacity. America’s Frontline Doctors and Dr. Simone Gold, who filed an amici curiae brief in support of Dr. Cubin, welcome this important development protecting physician free speech.

Dr. Cubin is a respected and accomplished doctor, appointed by Governor Gordon to the Wyoming Board of Medicine. In early 2024, after the Wyoming Medical Society publicly opposed Chloe’s Law—a proposed bill that would restrict the ability of state doctors to provide “gender-affirming care” to minors—Dr. Cubin emailed all members of the Wyoming House of Representatives from his personal account. He criticized the Society’s position and expressed his personal support for the bill, which later passed and was signed into law. Governor Gordon subsequently removed Dr. Cubin from the Board, expressly citing his email to lawmakers. 

The district court denied Dr. Cubin’s motion for a preliminary injunction. The Tenth Circuit has now held that Dr. Cubin’s email addressed a matter of public concern and that the lower court erred by conducting Pickering balancing at the pleadings stage. The court reversed and remanded the official-capacity First Amendment claim and encouraged the district court to reconsider whether it should exercise jurisdiction over Dr. Cubin’s state constitutional claim. 

The decision restores Dr. Cubin’s opportunity to prove that he suffered unconstitutional retaliation for addressing elected lawmakers on a matter of urgent public concern. AFLDS maintains that physicians do not surrender their First Amendment rights when they accept public appointments, and government officials may not punish them merely because their medical judgment challenges a favored ideology. 

America’s Frontline Doctors contends that terminating Dr. Cubin for speaking accurate medical information in a private capacity is unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination and violates the First Amendment. Speech in favor of these interventions was tolerated; speech against them was punished. Both viewpoints are entitled to equal protection under the Constitution.

AFLDS attorney David Dalia stated: “The Tenth Circuit correctly recognized that Dr. Cubin’s email engaged core political speech on a matter of intense public debate. Chloe’s Law protects Wyoming’s minor children from irreversible interventions with lifelong consequences. Children cannot give informed consent to procedures that sterilize them and permanently alter healthy bodies. At least twenty-five other states have enacted similar protections. Dr. Cubin’s private-capacity speech advancing these medical realities is fully entitled to First Amendment protection, and is consistent with the AMA’s ethical principles calling on physicians to improve public health and make relevant medical information available.”

AFLDS Founder and President Dr. Simone Gold added: “Dr. Cubin was forced from a state medical board because he refused to remain silent while children faced irreversible harm. No child is born in the wrong body, and no physician should be punished for defending biological reality, informed consent, and ethical medicine. Medical boards must not become enforcers of political orthodoxy. Dr. Cubin is an example of what a frontline doctor should be: a physician willing to put patients and truth ahead of professional intimidation.”

This case continues to have national significance for every physician who speaks on matters of public health. AFLDS will continue to monitor the proceedings. We stand in solidarity with Dr. Cubin and righteous doctors everywhere. Together we will keep fighting to restore truth and free speech to medicine.

Stay tuned—we will keep you updated on the status of this case and our efforts to protect the free speech rights of all Americans.

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Media Contact Lisa Alexander, Executive Director | Media@AFLDS.org