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A Los Angeles A gynecologist surrendered his medical license for allegedly harassing a patient about Jesus and prescribing Bible studies after she revealed she had a abortion 34 years ago.

The 63-year-old went to Dr Lucien Cox in September 2021 for a routine exam, during which an assistant first asked her a series of preliminary questions, including whether or not she had ever terminated a pregnancy . The woman said she had an elective abortion in 1987, according to a disciplinary file from the Medical Board of California.

When Cox, 75, entered the room, he asked the woman for more details about the abortion and asked if she had “Jesus in her life,” the filing states. When the woman told Cox she was not religious, Cox asked her if she wanted to “go to heaven and avoid the devil,” telling her that “the devil runs the world.” He then spent the next 15 minutes proselytizing before inviting her to attend his Bible study class, which Cox said offered “advice to women who suffer from abortion guilt,” according to the case.

Cox, who has been banned from practicing since Tuesday, then called his assistant back into the room and administered a pelvic exam and Pap smear, the filing states.

The woman complained to state regulators, who launched an investigation and discovered that a second Cox patient had reported him to authorities in 2014 for “attempting to examine (her) uterus rectally without notify him in advance,” according to the filing. Stunned, the 42-year-old pushed Cox away, left the office and called the police. Cops investigated, but no criminal charges were filed, the filing states.

The filing cites Cox, who began practicing in 1979, for unprofessional conduct and gross negligence, denouncing him for “extreme departures from the standard of care.” The medical board revoked Cox’s license, effective November 5.

In a statement provided Wednesday to The IndependentCox’s lawyer, Peter Osinoff, said his client “did not offer to teach her about Christianity” and that he denied making comments “about the devil or going to heaven.” Cox is “deeply religious” and simply “advised the patient (who had had an abortion) on a Bible study program that might be helpful to her,” according to Osinoff.

“As always, an attendant was present during the examination, which took place without incident,” he said.

If Cox had gone to court before the medical board, “he would not have lost his license or been severely sanctioned,” according to Osinoff, who said Cox “was never subject to any disciplinary action during his long career as a doctor.

“Rather than proceed with a costly hearing, Dr. Cox decided to surrender his license because he had closed his practice and had been considering retiring from the practice of medicine for some time,” the statement concluded.

Cox further denied attempting to examine the second patient’s uterus via her rectum, according to Osinoff, who said Cox had “provided excellent care to thousands of patients in the Los Angeles community.”