The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled to overturn a lower court order that required Aurora Health Care, dual headquartered in Milwaukee and Downers Grove, Ill., to administer ivermectin to a COVID-19 patient, WGN9 reported May 2.
The 6-1 ruling stated that the circuit court erroneously exercised its discretion because "the circuit court's written order [...] does not cite any statute, case, or other source of law as a foundation allowing for its issuance. Absent any citation to law establishing a legal basis for the order, we cannot determine that the circuit court employed the reasoning process our precedent demands," the court wrote in its filing.
The lawsuit stems from a 2022 incident at a Wisconsin hospital during which a patient was forced to be intubated. The patient's nephew, Allen Gahl, tried to compel physicians to give his uncle ivermectin, a treatment experts say is ineffective against COVID-19. Physicians refused, and the nephew sued the hospital. His uncle eventually recovered and was discharged.
The Waukesha County Circuit Court initially ordered the hospital to administer ivermectin, then altered the order to require Mr. Gahl to find an outside credentialed physician to come to the hospital to provide the drug.