CA man sues doctor for diagnosing his 'homosexual behavior' as 'chronic condition'

A gay California man is suing his physician after he found she had diagnosed his “homosexual behavior” as a “chronic condition.”

Matthew Moore said he found the diagnosis on his medical records and patient plan when he discussed the results of a physical exam with Dr. Elainee Jones during a routine exam in April 2013.

“My jaw was on the floor,” Moore said. “At first, I kind of laughed, I thought, ‘Here’s another way that gay people are lessened and made to feel less-than,’ and then as I thought about it and as I dealt with it, it angered me.”

The 46-year-old Moore has sued his health-care network and the Manhattan Beach doctor for intentional infliction of emotional distress and libel.

He said the physician defended her diagnosis, saying whether homosexuality is a disease remained a topic of debate in the medical community.

However, homosexuality has not been classified as a mental illness since 1973, when it was removed by the American Psychiatric Association from the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.

Moore complained to his health care provider, which apologized and promised to remove the diagnosis from his records.

Torrance Health Association’s senior director told Moore in a letter that the health care provider did not endorse the use of Code 302.0 – or “ego-dystonic sexual orientation” – as a diagnosis for homosexuality, as Jones had in the medical records.

Ego-dystonic sexual orientation was removed from the DSM in 1987, and it was defined as a persistent and distressing lack of heterosexual arousal.

“I never said I had an issue with my sexuality,” Moore said.

His lawsuit, which was filed last month, seeks undetermined punitive and compensatory damages.

Watch this video report posted online by KNBC-TV: