This Wednesday and Thursday, July 29-30, the appeal hearing for Dr. Paul Church will take place. It will include lawyers, “evidence”, and witnesses, as his hospital attempts to seal his firing.

On March 30, Dr. Church, a well-respected urologist, was expelled from the medical staff of Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC), a major Harvard-affiliated hospital in Boston.

Dr. Church’s crime? He voiced concerns to his colleagues and hospital staff about the unhealthy nature of homosexual behavior and objected to the hospital’s aggressive promotion of “gay pride” activities. As we’ve reported, for years the hospital has been aggressive in its attempts to silence and punish Dr. Church. (See the timeline of events.)

Specifically, Dr. Church is being charged with posting three short comments on the BIDMC internal website during 2013 and 2014 in violation of a gag order issued in 2011 regarding comments about homosexual behavior. One of his postings was about the health consequences of those behaviors, and two contained Bible verses regarding the morality of the behavior.

Dangerous and frightening

The fact that a physician’s internal discussion of medical facts and morality is now considered a firing offense by a major hospital is a very dangerous and frightening state of affairs. People everywhere should be outraged.

Dr. Church has been a urologist on the BIDMC staff in Boston for nearly 30 years. He is a member of the Harvard Medical School faculty. He has done research on diagnosing prostate and bladder cancer, and has been a frequent volunteer for medical mission projects in Mexico and Africa. He has also spoken before educational and civic groups on the subject of high-risk sexual behaviors.

Media blackout in Boston – no surprise

It’s a testament to the intimidation power of the homosexual activists that so far no Boston newspaper, TV station, or radio station has been willing to write about this, despite numerous attempts to notify them. Even Boston’s leading conservative talk radio host, WRKO’s Jeff Kuhner, who now calls himself “Boston’s Voice of Resistance,” has refused to discuss it on the air despite repeated acknowledgement that he knows about it. It has been covered by some national conservative news sites.

CALL TO ACTION:

Call the Boston Herald newsroom at 617-619-6514. Ask them why they aren’t covering this story.

Radio host Jeff Kuhner – WRKO M-F 12:00 pm-3:00 pm 617-266-6868

SIGN a petition!

A national CitizenGo Petition has been started to reinstate Dr. Church! We need as many people as we can get to sign it. Sign it HERE.

About the hearing

Dr. Church’s original expulsion hearing last February was a relatively informal affair. The 25-member Medical Executive Committee allowed him to read a statement and asked him some questions. He wasn’t even allowed to bring a lawyer with him.

But the appeal hearing is completely different. Lawyers are involved. It is strict, formal, and secret. According to the BIDMC bylaws, all information, documents,and proceedings regarding this 2-day hearing must be kept in strict secrecy. And the hospital seems to have the advantage.

According to the BIDMC bylaws regarding an appeal hearing:

• The Hearing Panel judging Dr. Church is selected by the Medical Executive Committee from the BIDMC staff, of at least three people.
• The strict rules of legal evidence do not apply. Any relevant evidence, including hearsay, can be admitted regardless of admissibility in a court of law. This could include anything Dr. Church said or commented in the last dozen years, or even quotes in non-hospital websites.
• Any number of witnesses can be called on behalf of either the hospital or Dr. Church.
• The two day hearing will consist of the presentation of witnesses and evidence by the hospital against Dr. Church, and the presentation of witnesses and evidence for Dr. Church in rebuttal.
• After the hearing is complete, the Hearing Panel has 20 days to meet, deliberate, and issue their verdict and a written report to the hospital Board of Directors (and also Dr. Church).

You can count on MassResistance to keep you informed on this crucial issue.

Reprinted with permission from MassResistance.