Pasco, Wa.-based nonprofit the SIlent Majority Foundation is suing Washington State University, alleging that a professor's rights were violated after she spoke critically about the COVID-19 vaccine in a roundtable discussion, Tri-City Herald reported Oct. 16.
WSU launched an investigation following the roundtable and Renata Moon, MD, an associate professor at WSU's Elson S. Floyd College of Medicine, was not given a renewed employment contract. Her supervisor also filed a complaint about her with the Washington Medical Commission.
According to the report, Dr. Moon also faced complaints from some students in 2021, when she made remarks about race and gender discrimination, and questioned whether the COVID vaccine was safe for children.
While she had "good student evaluations" before 2021, the complaints from students detailed concerns regarding bias and microaggression as Dr. Moon had made comments saying she didn't "see color," did not believe in the concept of white privilege and that "sexism is far worse than racism," according to the lawsuit. Another student said in their evaluation that some of the anecdotes she shared were "not culturally sensitive" and seemed to mock people in a "mean-spirited way," according to the report.
Dr. Moon said she intended her comments to mean that "all people should be considered equal." She was also accused of discounting scientific evidence with comments about wearing masks, saying she would not be receiving the COVID-19 vaccine and that she thought children should go back to school because they were at low risk of serious outcomes from COVID-19, according to the lawsuit.
According to the report, she also expressed concerns about the effectiveness and long-term impacts of new mRNA vaccines. She was removed from her normal teaching schedule as a result of the investigation.
Dr. Moon is represented by Pete Serrano, the founder of the Silent Majority Foundation. Mr. Serrano is also the mayor of Pasco and a Republican candidate for Washington state attorney general alongside Karen Osborne, an attorney with Silent Majority. Silent Majority maintains that Dr. Moon suffered retaliation for exercising her First Amendment right of free speech. They also criticized WSU for not including students who praised Dr. Moon.
After the investigation into student complaints, Dr. Moon was removed from teaching until she completed activities such as having a faculty coach observe her clinical work. She avoided discussing the COVID-19 vaccine entirely after completing the activities required by the investigation, according to the lawsuit.
However, she did continue to voice her skepticism outside of her work, including at a December 2022 roundtable discussion led by Sen. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin. She said that the vaccine came without the information she needed to give informed consent and that she was concerned if she did not tell parents the vaccine was safe and effective, she would risk losing her medical license, according to the report. She also discussed other countries' policies and anecdotal information about the vaccine she had observed.
The complaint made against Dr. Moon to the Washington Medical Commission in August 2023 resulted in an investigation but no action. In January 2024, Dr. Moon had allowed her Washington medical license to lapse and moved out of the state.
Now, Dr. Moon and her legal counsel at Silent MAjority are asking the court to renew Dr. Moon's contract as a faculty member, restore her pension, clear her personnel file and retract the complaint made to the WAshington Medical Commission. The lawsuit also asks for punitive and compensatory damages. WSU told the Herald that their policy is not to comment on ongoing litigation.