http://www.firstamendmentcenter.org/news.aspx?id=12213
Dentist says state told him to clam up about mercury fillings
By The Associated Press
11.13.03 NEW HAVEN, Conn. — A dentist who has clashed with state health
officials over mercury-based dental fillings is suing the state Department of
Public Health in a free-speech case.
Dr. Mark Breiner, an Orange dentist who claims there are health risks in the
mercury-based fillings, has had a federal lawsuit filed on his behalf by the
Connecticut Civil Liberties Union.
In December 2001, Breiner agreed to stop recommending that his patients replace
their amalgam fillings, as part of a consent decree with the state health
department to keep his license.
But in July 2002, Breiner wrote a commentary for the Connecticut Post
newspaper, urging legislation banning mercury-based filings.
The commentary drew the ire of state health officials within weeks of its
publication. Health officials told Breiner that his opinion piece appeared to
violate his consent decree.
Health officials then informed Breiner in a letter dated Aug. 8, 2002, that
they would take no further action against his license "contingent upon your
agreement to refrain from submitting any more editorials concerning your
opinion of amalgam fillings and/or legislation regarding such."
Breiner's lawsuit, filed yesterday in U.S. District Court, seeks a judgment
declaring the alleged health department threat unconstitutional.
"The DPH may be able to regulate what a practitioner says in his office or to
his patients," said Teresa Younger, CCLU's executive director. "But the bottom
line is, no public agency is able to ever squelch the First Amendment when
dealing with the general public."