Louisiana suspended the medical license of an abortionist, who allegedly practiced despite failing to be certified as an OBGYN.
The Louisiana Board of Medical Examiners has suspended the license of Dr. Kevin Govan Work for the second time since 2015. The Board deemed the allegations against Work serious enough to warrant "emergency action" and immediate suspension, rather than allow him to continue to practice during the proceedings. Dr. Work, a New Orleans abortionist, will not be able to practice until a formal investigation is completed.
"Emergency action is imperative to safeguard the public health, welfare and safety," the board said in a Feb. 26 notice.
The Washington Free Beacon was unable to contact Dr. Work. His old office lines at three separate locations in New Orleans have been disconnected. Emails sent to addresses associated with the doctor went unreturned.
A Board spokesman said that it does not comment on any pending investigations.
The suspension followed a complaint filed pro-life Louisiana Right to Life. Executive Director Benjamin Clapper welcomed the suspension, but said Work's hiring raised questions about the hiring practices at the state's abortion clinics.
"Dr. Work’s presence is another indication that these abortion facilities are for-profit businesses willing to cut corners when it comes to the health and safety of their clients," he said in a release.
Work was still under probation at the time of the February suspension. His license was suspended in 2015 for allowing "unlicensed clinic personnel" to conduct procedures on his behalf and signed off on prescriptions without meeting with patients. Unlike February's suspension, the Board allowed Work to practice during the course of its investigation.
"Dr. Work has allowed unlicensed clinic personnel to evaluate his patients and provide prenatal care," the suspension notice said. "He allowed the use of his signature for visit notes and represented in the medical and billing records that he had seen patients himself during visits when he had not."
He was reinstated in 2016 under certain restrictions, but was told that he must meet certain conditions in order to begin practicing medicine on an unrestricted basis again. The Board noted in 2017 that he had failed to meet one of the most pressing requirements: his ability to pass certification as an OBGYN.
"Dr. Work was unable to satisfy this requirement and advised the Board that he would like to be reinstated to work in the area of wound care," the Board said. It forbid him from re-opening a solo office and ordered that he "only engage in the practice of medicine in a setting approved by the Board."
Despite those limitations, Dr. Work continued to work as an abortionist despite his insistence he would focus on wound care, according to the complaint from Louisiana Right to Life. The lack of supervision inspired criticism from Rep. Ralph Abraham (R., La.), a career physician who is seeking to run against Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards in 2019.
"As a doctor, I find it appalling that this man was ever allowed to practice medicine with such a well-documented history of unethical and dangerous conduct," Abraham said in an email. "The fact that it took the whistle-blowing of Louisiana Right to Life and Attorney General Jeff Landry to spur this action is evidence of a dangerous system failure under Governor Edwards's administration."
Gov. Edwards's office did not respond to request for comment.
Board rules emphasize that "Past complaints and investigations of a licensee may be utilized in a current investigation," meaning that Work's previous suspension, as well his first probation stint in 2009, could play a role in the current investigation. Work was put on probation in 2009 after being suspended by the Tulane University Hospital & Clinic following an investigation into complaints that he had sexually harassed a nurse and was frequently late to deliveries. The Board will have two years to complete its investigation, though it has the discretion to extend that deadline if need be.