An LA gynecologist has surrendered his license to practice after patients accused her of unwanted “religious counseling.” Dr. Lucien Cox had practiced for 46 years when a state oversight agency accused him of “unprofessional conduct” based on two complaints by two separate clients that had seen him once. One complainant, a 63-year-old woman, accused the doctor of making unwanted religious statements during an exam in 2021. The client said she had shared a history of a previous abortion when Cox asked her if she had “Jesus in her life.” Despite telling Cox she was not religious, she stated he was persistent, asking if she wanted to “go to heaven and avoid the devil” and inviting her to a Bible study that would offer support for any guilt she felt from her abortion. The patient also stated that Cox went on to perform a pelvic exam without warning and that it was “extremely uncomfortable.”

The board found that another woman had complained about Cox in 2014, stating he had attempted to perform a rectal exam without her consent. According to the complaint, Cox told the patient he could not feel her uterus due to a full bladder and attempted to check it rectally without notifying her of his intention. She then pushed him away and filed a complaint with the police. Charges were never brought against the doctor.

Cox chose to retire and surrender his license, waiving his right to a hearing. However, he denied the charges. His attorney, Peter Osinoff, addressed the doctor’s decision to surrender his license, stating Cox, “would not have lost his license, or been disciplined severely,” had there been a hearing. “He has never been the subject of any prior disciplinary action during his lengthy career as a physician. Rather than proceed to a costly hearing, Dr. Cox decided to surrender his license, as he had closed his office and had been planning to retire from the practice of medicine for some time,” said Osinoff.

Addressing the accusations, Osinoff pointed out that the patient in 2021 admitted to crying when discussing the abortion, leading the religious doctor to offer the Bible study as a resource. “She advised him that she was no longer religious, and Dr. Cox did not pursue the subject. He did not offer to teach her about Christianity and denies making any statement about the devil or about going to heaven,” said Osinoff. He stated a chaperone was present at the time of the pelvic exam and that “there was no indication that the exam was more uncomfortable than usual.”

Regarding the earlier accusation, Osinoff said a chaperone was also present during the exam. Osinoff denied that Cox attempted a rectal exam, though he did offer it as an option. The chaperone present during the examination “confirmed that nothing unusual had happened during the entire visit, except that the patient departed the office without completing the exam.”