WILMINGTON — Legal teams for both district 7 senatorial candidates are sparring over defamation claims this week. One candidate calls for the retraction of a couple of ads, claiming they falsely portray his position on “sex-change surgery,” while the other stands firm on its accuracy.
READ MORE: Hill campaign asks Sen. Lee to cease and desist ‘libelous’ campaign ads
On Thursday, Craig Schauer of Dowling PLLC, representing incumbent Sen. Michael Lee and the Senate Majority Fund responded to a cease-and-desist order issued by the legal team of his Democratic opponent, David Hill, earlier this week. The letter demanded Lee and his legal team immediately halt the ads and issue a written retraction or face further action.
“Senator Lee is not defaming Dr. Hill when the Senator expresses his opinion — one that is shared by others in the medical profession — that liberal views on gender, such as those espoused by Dr. Hill, are not sufficiently based on scientific evidence,” Schauer said in a response to the cease and desist.
Port City Daily contacted Schauer and Lee to inquire whether the ads would be removed; it wasn’t outright addressed in their response letter. An answer was not received by press but will be updated upon response.
Hill and his attorney, Press Millen of Womble Bond Dickinson, allege a video ad and mailer from Lee’s campaign contains false and misleading statements, specifically claiming Hill “strongly supports sex change surgery for kids.” They assert it is both untrue and defamatory.
It was written in a mailer that Millen claimed in the cease and desist was credited to a blog post. Yet, he added the post did not indicate Hill supports the surgery (read PCD’s Wednesday coverage on it here).
In his response Thursday, Schauer argued Hill’s defamation claims were unfounded and based on a misunderstanding. Schauer said the blog post wasn’t used as evidence that Hill supported sex-change surgeries for minors but to back up a different quote in the ad — one that “belittles parents who disagree with [Hill’s] liberal ideology.”
Furthermore, the lawyer said the sex-change surgery claim is based on other evidence, particularly two podcast episodes featuring Hill and released in 2020 and 2021.
Schauer stated Hill has advocated for gender-affirming surgery for children on the American Association of Pediatrics’ podcast, “Pediatrics on Call,” of which Hill is a co-host. Hill has been a member of the group since 2015; AAP supports gender-affirming care, as noted on its website from August of 2023.
Schauer contends since Hill is a member of the organization, Lee’s campaign ads stating he “strongly supports sex change surgery for kids” is accurate.
He also referenced episode 65, “Caring for Gender-Diverse Youth, Identifying Developmental Delays in Refugee Children.” Hill’s opening remarks include: “The AAP is committed to defending the doctor-patient relationship when it comes to gender-affirming care.”
Additionally, Schauer’s letter says Hill criticized state laws restricting gender-affirming care during the episode, which also shows support for this type of healthcare. In the podcast, Hill asks his guest, Dr. Ilana Sherer, then a general pediatrician at the Palo Alto Medical Foundation in Dublin, California, about laws related to gender-affirming care.
“What’s at stake when we look at laws and proposed laws that are cropping up all over the country, designed to limit the care doctors can provide their patients?” he asks at the 13:13 mark.
“This is clearly a political move,” Dr. Sherer answers, referring to lawmakers taking on culture wars.
Currently, 25 states have enacted bans or policies restricting youth access to gender-affirming care. These limitations impose restrictions on accessing puberty blockers, hormone therapies, and surgeries.
North Carolina also has a law, HB808, which prevents medical professionals from conducting procedures or prescribing medications, such as hormones, to anyone under 18 who wants to transition from one gender to another. It was voted on by Lee, which the supermajority overrode last year from Democratic Governor Roy Cooper’s veto.
Hill clarified around the 16:38 mark he was a general pediatrician — in practice for 22 years — who would not be prescribing gender-affirming therapy.
“But what can I do to make sure that I am serving these patients as well as I can?” he asked.
In episode 158, released in 2021, titled “Gender-Affirming Care, Undertriage in Emergency Departments,” Hill and his co-host spoke with Dr. Kathryn Lowe, a pediatrician who focuses on gender-diverse youth.
In his response Thursday, Schauer highlighted Hill’s remarks and thanking Lowe for her take on it. Lowe was advocating for changed legislation that limits medical resources for families of children that want gender-affirming care. She also advocated for change in elected state leaders who label parents, teachers, and pediatricians as harmful for being pro-gender-affirming care.
“Dr. Hill responded by applauding Dr. Lowe’s call to advocate for comprehensive gender-affirming care, describing it as ‘such an important takeaway’ — and adding that he personally was ‘ready to go do that, and I hope a lot of our listeners are as well,’” Schauer wrote in the letter.
Hill said 2 minutes into the podcast that by the time it aired multiple states would already ban or criminalize gender-affirming care for children.
“But we do know that pediatricians want to continue providing comprehensive quality care for all their patients, and that’s going to take advocacy,” he added, something Schauer took note of in his letter.
“We are not sure how else Dr. Hill would like the public to understand such statements,” Schauer wrote.
The video ad also refers to Hill as a “quack liberal” — something both parties debated the definition of. In the cease-and-desist request from Hill’s campaign, his lawyer says the ad is built around Hill’s career as a medical doctor, implying the use of the word “quack” as a professional pejorative.
According to the National Library of Medicine, the term is historically meant to refer to a person who falsely claims to have medical knowledge or expertise. It comes from the older term “quacksalver,” which combined “quack” with “salve,” referring to someone who sells dubious or fraudulent remedies.
Over time, “quack” became an insult to describe any medical practitioner who is considered fraudulent or unqualified.
Millen told PCD Thursday he thought it was “dangerous” to have a political ad go after someone’s profession — something Lee has been privy to before. In the 2022 election he sued his challenger Marcia Morgan for running a false ad that Lee said led to him losing a client. Lee owns the law firm Lee Kaess which works in commercial real estate, trusts and estates, and land use and zoning. Morgan apologized and settled with Lee last September.
The response from Schauer states Lee’s campaign ad doesn’t go after Hill’s professional expertise, nor labels Hill as a “quack,” only utilizes it as an adjective in the phrase “quack liberal.”
“The advertisement is devoid of a single factual statement regarding Dr. Hill’s medical practice, much less a factual statement about his honesty or competency as a pediatrician,” Schauer penned.
Lee told Port City Daily Wednesday the ad was centered on highlighting Hill’s liberal views on three gender issues: sex-change treatments for children, children using preferred pronouns without their parent’s knowledge, and boys competing in girls’ sports.
Schauer added in his response, if the ads’ claims are false, Lee encourages Hill to change his position.
“But until he does, Senator Lee and the North Carolina Senate Majority Fund will continue to inform voters of Dr. Hill’s support of sex-change surgeries for children.”
Port City Daily reached out to Hill’s lawyer, Millen, to discuss potential next steps, as his cease-and-desist stated: “Your failure to immediately cease and desist will result in our taking further action, including actions with respect to any disseminating media outlets and/or service providers to the Committees.”
Millen said he had not had enough time to review the letter thoroughly but would be back in touch after doing so.
Tips or comments? Email journalist Jalyn Baldwin at jalyn@localdailymedia.com.
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