FDA Ivermectin Lawsuit Dismissed, COVID Doctors Appeal
Dr. Mary Talley Bowden says the fight is for medical freedom
The lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) by three COVID doctors over prescribing ivermectin to treat COVID-19 was dismissed this week due to the government’s claim of sovereign immunity. The plaintiffs — Dr. Mary Talley Bowden, Dr. Paul E. Marik and Dr. Robert L. Apter — filed a notice of appeal on Friday.
“The decision is disappointing but not surprising,” Dr. Bowden, who has treated 4,500 COVID patients and writes
, told me.“While fighting for medical freedom, doctors like myself have encountered setback after setback. But we will not give up. The future of medicine depends on continuing the fight until we win.”
(My first story about the details of the lawsuit when it was filed in June is here. My most recent story with a video interview with Dr. Bowden is here.)
The FDA can’t be sued
Judge Jeffrey V. Brown, who was appointed by Pres. Donald Trump, ruled that the FDA cannot be sued for recommending against using ivermectin to treat COVID. He concluded that the doctors were not able “to allege facts that overcome the defendants’ assertion of sovereign immunity.”
It’s a lot of legalese in the 20-page ruling, so I attached it below for those of you who are lawyers to read. In short, Judge Brown said:
Although the FDA could have, and perhaps should have, been more prudent in their communications, they had at least a colorable basis in authority—and there is no statute saying otherwise.
The physicians argued that the FDA clearly did not have the authority and interfered with their ability to practice medicine. The plaintiffs claimed they have been harmed by the agency’s statements on this lengthy website called “Why You Should Not Use Ivermectin to Treat or Prevent COVID-19” and its social media campaign showing a doctor and a horse.
Next legal steps
Bowden is represented by the prestigious Washington, D.C. law firm run by C. Boyden Gray, who was Pres. George H. W. Bush’s White House counsel. The attorneys will be appealing the sovereign immunity for all the claims in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Now an appeals court will decide if the federal government cannot be sued over its actions to prevent doctors from prescribing ivermectin to their patients with COVID.