A. Los Angeles A gynecologist had his medical license revoked after he allegedly pressured a patient about Jesus and suggested she study the Bible. abortion 34 years ago.

The 63-year-old woman went to Dr. for a routine examination in September 2021. It went to Lucien Cox. During this examination, an assistant first asked a series of preliminary questions, including whether she had terminated her pregnancy. According to the Medical Board’s disciplinary file, the woman said she had an abortion in 1987. California.

When Cox, 75, entered the room, he pressed the woman for more details about the abortion and asked “whether she had Jesus in her life,” according to the filing. When the woman told Cox that she was not religious, Cox reportedly asked her if she wanted to “go to heaven and avoid the devil” and told her that “the devil runs the world.” He then spent the next 15 minutes proselytizing before inviting her to his Bible study class; Cox said it offered “counseling to women suffering from post-abortion guilt,” according to the filing.

According to the file, Cox, who was no longer allowed to train as of Tuesday, then called his assistant back into the room and had a pelvic examination and Pap smear test.

The woman complained to state regulators, who investigated and discovered that a second patient of Cox’s had reported her to authorities in 2014 for “attempting to rectally examine her uterus without prior warning,” according to the filing. The stunned 42-year-old woman pushed Cox away, left the office and called the police. police. According to the file, the police launched an investigation, but no criminal complaint was filed.

Cox, who started working in 1979 for unprofessional conduct and gross negligence, called her out for “extreme deviations from the standard of care,” the filing states. The medical board revoked Cox’s license effective November 5.

In a statement on Wednesday IndependentCox’s lawyer, Peter Osinoff, said his client “did not offer to teach her about Christianity” and denied making any comments “about the devil or going to heaven.” According to Osinoff, Cox is “deeply religious” and would only “advise the abortion patient on a Bible study program that he might find helpful.”

“A companion was also present during the exam, which proceeded without incident as always,” he said.

According to Osinoff, if Cox had filed a tribunal before the medical board, “he would not have lost his license or been subject to serious disciplinary action” and that Cox “had never before been subject to disciplinary action in his long career.” a doctor.”

“Rather than go through a costly hearing, Dr. Cox has decided to surrender his license as he closes his office and plans to retire from the medical profession for a period of time,” the statement concluded.

Cox also denied attempting to examine the second patient’s uterus through the rectum, according to Osinoff, who said Cox “provided excellent care to thousands of patients in the Los Angeles community.”