Dr. Stephen Skoly appeals to federal court to resume oral surgery practice

Dr. Stephen Skoly and his legal team today filed a lawsuit in federal court against defendants Governor Daniel McKee and James McDonald, MD, interim Director of the Rhode Island Department of Health (RIDOH), seeking a temporary restraining order enjoining the State from barring Dr. Skoly from providing critical care for his patients. 

Dr. Skoly is Chairman of the RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity and a highly respected oral and maxillofacial surgeon who regularly provided service to those institutionalized by the State, was ordered by RIDOH on October 1, 2021 to cease providing his critical surgical care to patients, after his request for a medical exemption for the Covid-19 vaccine was denied.

The official complaint was prepared by Brian Rosner and Jenin Younes, litigation counsels for the nationally renowned and Washington, DC based New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA) … and was filed today in the United States District Court for Rhode Island by local attorney Gregory Piccirilli. 

“After four months of being forced out of work, I still held out some hope that all mandates might come to an end in mid-February. But now, with Rhode Island’s Speaker of the House and Senate President openly planning with Governor McKee to extend his executive orders and unilateral powers for another two months … I am left with no choice but to file this lawsuit,” exclaimed Skoly, who for 18 months of the pandemic safely cared for his patients. 

“For four months, contrary to reason and science, Rhode Island has shuttered Dr. Skoly’s medical practice, depriving hundreds of Rhode Islanders, including its most vulnerable, of necessary dental surgeries,” said Rosner. “Dr. Skoly and his staff are eager to return to service. Should the federal district court restrain Rhode Island from continuing its unlawful closure, Dr. Skoly and his staff will be able to resume surgeries within 48 hours. Priority in treatment will be given to those whose need is most critical.”

At a virtual news conference today, Rosner and Skoly addressed the public and the media live at 12:00 PM Friday on The Ocean State Current, hosted by the Center’s CEO, Mike Stenhouse.

The 34-page complaint puts forth two primary arguments for the Court to consider:

First, the complaint claims that Dr. Skoly’s “equal protection” and “due process” rights were violated, under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, which states that no State shall “deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.” In Dr. Skoly’s case, the State of Rhode Island has awarded hundreds of related exemptions to various healthcare professionals, while simultaneously denying Dr. Skoly equal consideration and failing to provide the legal due process that he is entitled to.

Second, the complaint cites that it was an “irrational and arbitrary move” for RIDOH to deny Dr. Skoly’s valid request for a medical exemption. The complaint not only documents Dr. Skoly’s naturally acquired immunity and antibody testing, but also his personal medical history of suffering from Bell’s Palsy facial paralysis, a condition that has scientifically been demonstrated to be associated with the Covid-19 vaccine … and where at least fifteen such cases have been reported in Rhode Island. Risking re-activation of such paralysis in order to continue his medical practice is repeatedly cited in the complaint as an irrational demand by the State of Rhode Island, which has caused “hardship and suffering to hundreds of Rhode Islanders” who are denied care by Dr. Skoly.

In advancing its “equal protection” argument, the complaint discusses how N95 masking has essentially been designated by the State as an acceptable alternative to vaccination. Dr. Skoly, who has said he will always comply with the highest safety standards, as well as any other required testing and masking protocols, says he presents no more risk to patients than the thousands of other healthcare workers, vaccinated or not, infected or not, who are currently allowed to care for patients under those same protocols.

The complaint continues that the State, in allowing masked and “infected” workers to retain their livelihoods, while barring (infection-free) Dr. Skoly from practicing his profession, is guilty of an “arbitrary and capricious distinction” that “denies Dr. Skoly the equal protection of the law.”

The Center for Freedom and Prosperity’s director, Mike Stenhouse, says that sources have said that RIDOH staff have said that Dr. Skoly “was being made an example of, in part, because of his association with “that conservative organization” which he serves, the RI Center for Freedom and Prosperity.

In a news conference broadcast live on Friday, Rosner notes that Dr. Skoly cannot be vaccinated due to his personal medical situation, and the state has said that he can’t practice unless he is vaccinated. Skoly has not violated that rule, but maintains the RIDOH decision violates his constitutional rights, and does not protect his personal medical protection, which they should be concerned with. Skoly will not be exempted from the vaccination regulation, even though exemption regulations are set forth by RIDOH. Rosner says that his client is being “unfairly singled out” – “he has been wearing an N95 masks all the time in his work, and others can be exempted into this – but not him” – “that is, in excess, what the lawsuit is about”. There are 360 exempt people, and “there is no reason why he should not be the 361^st. person to be exempted” – “his history of Bell’s Palsy paralysis contraindicates his receipt of the vaccine”.

Supporting Dr. Skoly’s position, and included in the filing, are over a dozen affidavits from local medical professionals, including statements from multiple national experts on Bell’s Palsy and Covid-19, as well as citation of recent findings from the CDC and updated policies from other countries. 

Also, to date, the Center says that about 4,000 emails have been delivered to state officials via an online petition whereby concerned citizens can #StandWithDocSkoly . The petition, plus related documentation and links can be found on the Center’s website at RIFreedom.org/DocSkoly. 

More legal information were offered at: https://nclalegal.org/skoly-v-mckee/.

Watch the press conference, here:

https://www.twitch.tv/videos/1286750495

There was no response to our request to the Rhode Island Department of Health for comment Friday morning.

About the New Civil Liberties’ Alliance:

NCLA is a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group founded by prominent legal scholar Philip Hamburger to protect constitutional freedoms from violations by the Administrative State. NCLA’s public-interest litigation and other pro bono advocacy strive to tame the unlawful power of state and federal agencies and to foster a new civil liberties movement that will help restore Americans’ fundamental rights.

See original story on Dr. Skoly: https://rinewstoday.com/ri-health-dept-orders-dr-stephen-skoly-to-cease-professional-conduct-for-not-being-vaccinated/