Did the WMC Retaliate Against Dr. Lin?
A Review of WMC v. Dr. Lin
When our client, Dr. Wei-Hsung Lin was contacted by the Washington Medical Commission on October 28, 2021 it was due to complaints they had received about his prescribing of Ivermectin and purported “misinformation” regarding the treatment of COVID-19. The initial complaint was from a Luke Liu, who was not located in the state in which Dr. Lin practices, was not injured and had not interacted with Dr. Lin in any way. Another complaint was from a patient of Dr. Lin’s who reported that another doctor had told him that his [Dr. Lin’s] “practice differs from mine on COVID. The jury is still out on Ivermectin. It may be somewhat helpful but more studies are needed. Your prior vaccination is the biggest advantage you have.” The WMC launched a full investigation of Dr. Lin in which the Agency was also the jury. Silent Majority Foundation represented Dr. Lin to uphold his constitutionally-guaranteed right to free speech and to protect him from the retaliatory actions of the WMC.
The outcome of this case has made headlines across the nation so we wanted to take some time lay out the details of Dr. Lin’s WMC investigation. Below are the points we hinged our case on, as well as some issues to note.
Initially, the Washington Medical Commission was equating speech with the practice of medicine. This was similar to their approach with Dr. Michael Turner which the WMC quickly changed course on when they were unable to defend their attack on free speech. The rights guaranteed in our Constitution are for everyone, physicians included; a professional license does not change that fundamental right.
The Position Statement issued by the WMC is being contradicted by studies that show the safety and efficacy of Ivermectin. On September 22, 2021, the WMC adopted the Position Statement. The Position Statement adopted and expanded the Federation of State Medical Board’s (“FSMB”) COVID-19 Misinformation Position Statement which focused on unproven statements about the COVID-19 vaccines. The WMC further expanded the Position Statement as seen below.
This misinformation and disinformation was not based on prevailing science; rather, it was based on the opinions of employees at the CDC and DOH. It also proclaimed Food and Drug Administration’s (“FDA”) authorized drugs for the treatment of COVID-19 to be the standard of care, contrary to the normal method of developing a standard of care through the practice of doctors in a specific location or practice of medicine: “The WMC relies on the U.S Food and Drug Administration approval of medications to treat COVID-19 to be the standard of care.” Id. Additionally, the Position Statement ignored health advisories from counties around the state about incidents of myocarditis and pericarditis after vaccination concentrated in young men.
When the pandemic hit, Dr. Lin began reviewing studies on Ivermectin in conjunction with steroids and other nutraceuticals as a treatment modality for COVID, and because of its safety profile and in the absence of other safe and effective treatments, Dr. Lin began offering Ivermectin to his patients. The Washington Medical Commission launched individual investigations of complaints based solely on Dr. Lin’s speech and online information. They then requested the records of patients he had treated with Ivermectin to comb through the records and find something he did “wrong” to support a statement of charges. His wrongdoing, as dictated by the WMC, is that he prescribed a safe medication that the WMC considers not to be within “the standard of care” and advised people of the harms of vaccines. It is clear that Dr. Lin was initially investigated due to his constitutionally-protected speech, a violation of his rights.
Fast forward to 2024 and we can see that many studies (we will link some recent studies and reports below) are coming out that directly contradict the efficacy and safety of the WMC mandated protocols. Many physicians, like Dr. Lin, took the utmost care to properly treat patients based on long-standing studies of Nobel Prize winning, Ivermectin. Conversely, the vaccines were fast-tracked with only 2 months of studies completed by the pharmaceutical companies. Additionally, when these EUA’s and approvals were issued, there was no study done to verify that the vaccines stopped infection or transmission.
What Dr. Lin and other physicians who stood up against the systematic chilling of their free speech experienced is not rare these days, sadly. What has been exposed in this process - the presence of a medical establishment that may have lost its original intent of “first, do no harm” - is valuable to the growing of our identity as We the People.
The final outcome is favorable for Dr. Lin.
If Dr. Lin had contested the allegations, the commission would have heard arguments and then ruled, potentially suspending his license. The commission has already ruled against several doctors who prescribed ivermectin for COVID-19, most recently forbidding pathologist Dr. Ryan Cole from practicing medicine in the state for five years.
“Dr. Lin was willing to fight this all the way but when we looked the risk-reward matrix we felt—and he felt—it was in his best interest to go ahead and settle,” Pete Serrano, an attorney with the Silent Majority Foundation representing Dr. Lin, told The Epoch Times.
“He was ready to kind of close the chapter and move on with his life,” Mr. Serrano added later.
While Dr. Lin was initially facing a $25,000 fine and other harsh punishments but settlement negotiations reduced his fine to $5,000. In addition, he will be required to attend continuing education classes and has restrictions on his ability to prescribe Ivermectin. This is a win, allowing Dr. Lin to continue providing care to his patients while paying a significantly decreased fine.
We are thankful for the opportunity to stand with Dr. Lin. His battle is really a battle for all of us - a battle to protect the safety of patients and to provide excellent healthcare. May his courage and integrity be contagious as we all move forward.
Karen Osborne headed up this case and our team couldn’t be more proud of her work! Thank you, Karen!
Every donation to our Medical Freedom Fund allows us to continue to stand with courageous Physicians who take their oath to “do no harm” seriously and have exercised their right to speak freely in order to provide information to We the People. Let’s keep putting the pressure on the WMC.
Related News on Ivermectin
https://www.theepochtimes.com/epochtv/the-surprising-potential-of-ivermectin-against-cancer-dr-kathleen-ruddy-5649306?ea_src=author_manual&ea_med=related_stories
https://www.theepochtimes.com/health/thousands-of-children-prescribed-ivermectin-or-hydroxychloroquine-for-covid-study-5649778?ea_src=author_manual&ea_med=related_stories
https://www.yahoo.com/news/chris-cuomo-makes-ivermectin-face-210453781.html
https://www.cureus.com/articles/82162-ivermectin-prophylaxis-used-for-covid-19-a-citywide-prospective-observational-study-of-223128-subjects-using-propensity-score-matching#!/
Thank you for the amazing work you do in serving and defending so many dedicated, caring, and truly talented professionals. Keep up the good work!