A San Diego doctor has agreed to surrender his medical license and close his clinic at the end of the year amid allegations related to patient care and unprofessional behavior. He was taped confronting one of the anti-abortion protesters outside of Family Planning Associates in June 2016.
The Medical Board of California accused the doctor of overprescribing narcotics to a half-dozen of his patients and to mishandling another patient’s abortion. It also noted the doctor’s “physically threatening gestures” and “outrageous conduct” toward the protester last summer, which it ruled was a violation of the ethical code and demonstrated a lack of fitness to practice medicine.
The doctor had scissors in his hand at one point when he got in the face of a protester who was standing near a railing outside the second-floor clinic, as a police officer observed the scene. The man he confronted said that the scissors were “very close to the top of my chest, if not my neck.” He said, “I could have tipped over. I could have fallen from the second floor.” When the protester told the doctor to “stop murdering babies,” the doctor is heard saying, among other things, “I love it.”
This is not the first time the medical board has taken action against the doctor, who has been a practicing OB-GYN for more than four decades. He was placed on five years’ probation back in 1983 for incompetence and gross negligence. He was placed on four years’ probation in 2000 for lax maintenance of medical records.
By signing the agreement to surrender his license, the doctor admitted “the truth of each and every charge and allegation” by the board. His attorney noted that “those battles with the (Medical) Board are long and hard, and they’re very expensive.” The doctor, who told a local television station that he regrets losing his composure with the protester, said that he’d prefer to surrender his license than fight the board in an administrative law court.
While fighting to retain your medical license can be a long and stressful process, if you’ve been wrongly accused or believe that your actions don’t warrant revocation, it can be worth it to preserve your reputation, your right to practice medicine and your livelihood. An experienced California attorney can provide guidance and assistance.
Source: NBC Channel 7 San Diego, “San Diego Abortion Doctor Surrenders Medical License,” Paul Krueger, Aug. 22, 2017