WILMINGTON, N.C. (WECT) – Dowling PLLC representing N.C. Sen. Michael Lee has responded to a cease and desist letter sent by Senate candidate Dr. David Hill claiming that some of Lee’s campaign mailers make false and defamatory claims.
The original letter is dated Aug. 13 from Womble Bond Dickinson representing Dr. Hill and centers around the claim by the mailers that Dr. Hill supports gender-affirming surgeries for children.* The letter says this is false, and that the cited article for the claim does not have any language that supports the claim. Because of this, Womble Bond Dickinson demands that the committees cease and desist any more spreading of the false claims.
In the response from the law firm representing Lee, the firm claims that the citation was for an unrelated quote and not for the claim of Dr. Hill supporting gender affirming surgeries. They claim Dr. Hill’s support for the surgeries is “without question” because he was on the board for the American Academy of Pediatrics when the AAP made a policy statement recommending certain surgeries for adolescents on a case-by-case basis.
The response then cites two episodes featuring Dr. Hill of the AAP’s Pediatrics on Call podcast, during which Hill states that he supports gender-affirming care for minors. It conflates supporting gender-affirming care with supporting gender-affirming surgeries, but none of the quotes provided depict Dr. Hill supporting the surgeries specifically.
The cease and desist letter also takes issue with a campaign advertisement referring to Hill as a “quack” while discussing Hill’s profession as a doctor. The response letter claims that “quack” is not a factual statement regarding Hill’s medical practice, rather referring to his stances on gender-affirming surgeries for children, using preferred pronouns for children and trans children competing in sports.
*Note: The exact quote is “State Senate Candidate David Hill strongly supports sex change surgery for kids.” “Sex change surgery” is outdated terminology used to refer to gender affirming surgeries for transgender people, per Fenway Health.
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