A University of Louisville student has filed a lawsuit against the president of the University of Louisville, claiming that he was expelled in 2020 over his pro-life viewpoint.
Austin Clark is a fourth-year medical student who previously attended the University of Lousiville. Clark spent much of his time working with local groups to actively promote Christian ideas. He also acted as the president of Medical Students For Life and the Christian Medical and Dental Association.
Clark claims that the school became hostile to him after inviting Alex Mcfarland, a Christian apologist and speaker, to make an academic presentation on campus in 2019. In the years to come, Clark would face verbal and social abuse.
The lawsuit claims that an instructor in the Obstetrics and Gynecology department called Clark "stupid" and questioned how Clark's "brain was working". In response, Clark told the instructor that "you are not going to treat me that way" and "you are the worst preceptor I have ever had."
This lead to the instructor reportedly refusing to "allow Clark to meet with him in his office and required him to sit in a chair in the hallway and speak through an open doorway."
Clark would also claim the school gave him a failing grade despite him "objectively" passing it based on the numerical score. While the lawsuit was filed last week, it received an amendment last week, with Clark demanding that the university reinstate him. The university has stated that they will not comment on pending litigation.
“Viewpoint discrimination is running rampant in workplaces, online, and on college campuses,” writes Students for Life of America President Kristan Hawkins in a press release. “Students’ futures should not be threatened simply because their beliefs don’t line up perfectly with their professors’, but once again, a student must head to court to fight for basic rights.”
The University of Louisville has a longstanding history with the abortion industry. Several of the medical physicians who teach at the University also work at the state's sole remaining abortion clinic. This affiliation lead several Republican lawmakers to demand an investigation into whether the university was violating state law with relation to the funding of taxpayer-funded abortions.
