Dr Sherry Tenpennys Dilemma and Your TX License
Earlier this month Dr Sherry Tenpenny, an MD from Ohio and one of the early outspoken critics of the government's mandated treatment of Covid, especially the jab, had her license suspended indefinitely by the Ohio licensing board for making comments that ran counter to the board's official narrative on Covid. Yes, I know the "cover" reason was "obstructing an investigation", we'll get to that in a moment.
This is probably the largest point to be made here today, that the board's initial issue with Dr Tenpenny was about her spoken, public comments, not patient complaints. This should never have been brought before the licensing board in the first place as first amendment issues do not fall under their jurisdiction.
Dr Tenpenny's License Suspended Indefinitely
My intent here today is not to prove every factual milestone of the past two years. Like BHEC, the Ohio licensing board videotapes and publishes their meetings on Youtube so if you'd like to research the meeting in which her license was suspended you can go...oh, wait, the board took the video down almost immediately after they posted it. Why would they do that?
The public reason, the cover story given for suspending her license, was a failure to comply with the board's investigation of her perfectly legal, public comments. Does that even make any sense?
Remember, the initial issue was her comments. That is what she was being investigated for. Her comments were perfectly legal so why would she not cooperate with the investigation? Don't forget, no punitive action was ever taken against her for her comments. That point matters.
Dr Tenpenny hired a very prominent, nationally known attorney, Tom Renz, to handle the case for her almost two years ago. I don't believe there's a single attorney on the planet of his stature that would advise someone in her position to not cooperate with the investigation, knowing that it would culminate in a final appearance before the board. I'd want a squeaky clean case and a highly compliant client, and that's exactly what was documented and presented to the board.
Here's What Really Happened
1. She had the audacity to publicly counter the board's official position on handling covid, and made those comments at all.
That rankled the collective board ego (she hadn't broken any laws or licensing rules so what else could it be?) and they wanted their pound of punitive flesh.
2. The board couldn't make a legal case against her public comments that would stand up in court, so...
3. They manufactured a bogus charge and got her on obstructing an investigation.
The board had NO legal case on their original grievance about her comments so they pulled a "Capone" and got her on another, fabricated charge: obstructing an investigation. There are a number of attorneys that sit on the board and every one of them abstained from voting. Why? (I think the easiest way to wash the blood off your hands is to never get them bloody to begin with. Can you give me a better reason why they would abstain from the vote?)
Does this sound at all familiar? Have we seen this tactic play out on any larger stages recently?
Coming to a Licensing Board Near You?
So what does all this have to do with you, a Texas mental health counselor? Well, you have a licensing board. You're 1st amendment rights have been under attack for the past 3+ years by groups that want you to bow to their ideology. So there's that.
Can't happen here? Or to you?
Quite a few of us have a DSHS era horror story to tell and that reign of terror ended just 4 short years ago. The Boards just made it up as they went along. It can happen here and it can happen to you. Yes, BHEC cleaned up the administrative mess (kudos!) and instituted checks and balances to ensure that scenario didn't happen again. But BHEC, the Council, and your board are not without their problems. Any system is only as good as the people plugged into it and the people watching over them.
I'm telling you there are only a small handful of good people in our agency/licensing board system standing between your license and what's happening in Ohio. It could happen here, and it will if we don't watch the wall.
Your Call-to-Action
There is no mechanism we can put into place, no fool-proof checks and balances system we can activate so that we can go back to work and never have to worry about it again. There will always be those people with personal agendas willing to screw it all up for their own personal gain. That requires of us our time and effort to ensure that doesn't happen.
Liberty, freedom, and a fair justice system (yes, even at the licensing board level) require eternal vigilance on our part to ensure. We have to show up at each and every board meeting, make our voices heard and get the message through their heads that we aren't going away. Just ask Dr Tenpenny.
And it all starts with me, and you.
We got this.
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About the Author
Kathleen Mills is a fire-breathing, 32+ year veteran of the counseling world. People react in one of two ways when evil touches their lives: some retreat in fear, and some advance without pause to engage it. Kathleen falls firmly in the latter group. She owns and operates Life Tree Counseling in Frisco, TX, possesses a tireless work-ethic, and eagerly awaits your arrival into her growing army of warriors.
