Dr. Kelly Sutton was one of only 10 women in her medical school class. Like most entering medical school, she exemplified the hope to heal which calls many to enter the medical profession, combining science and learned knowledge, with caring and empathy for the patient being treated. She practiced medicine for five decades with no medical board complaints and no hospital complaints, and no malpractice judgments. Nonetheless, the Medical Board of California revoked her California medical license March 25, 2022, for writing eight vaccine medical exemptions for school children who were at risk of damage from routine vaccinations. On July 13, 2023, the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine revoked her Massachusetts medical license based on one fact: her California license was revoked. The legal principle used here is ‘reciprocal discipline,’ whereby a professional regulatory board in one state can discipline a license-holder without investigation if another state has already disciplined that professional. In the fall of 2023, New York state medical board revoked her medical license on the same grounds, although the New York license was inactive for forty years, she had never practiced in the state, and she was 76 years old at the time. Each action of the state medical boards resulted in a mark of disciplinary action against Dr. Sutton in the National Practitioner Data Bank. There were no patient complaints or patient injuries in any state. The Wall Street Journal and Children's Health Defense have chronicled portions of Dr. Sutton's journey, these and other articles and interviews are linked below.
The Federation of State Medical Boards (FSMB) and the International Association of Medical Regulatory Authorities (IAMRA) are private advocacy organizations, without accountability to voters or governments. Their work is primarily invisible to the doctors they regulate and to their patients. Directives from the FSMB to state medical boards are labeled "advisory" but carry enormous weight in administrative actions which the boards levy against physicians, and in legislation written by FSMB for introduction to state legislatures. One has to ask why such significant power (i.e., controlling professional licensure) is separate from the people? Doctors are not knowledgeable about these strings pulling their licenses until a time of investigation.
Dr. Sutton is not unique. A growing number of physicians who read scientific literature for themselves, and individualize patient treatment based on that reading, independent research, and experience, are being investigated and disciplined for treating their patients as individuals. The professional and government narrative today is pushing doctors to treat and advise patients based only on protocols and guidelines, omitting consideration of their unique medical needs or of the vast body of scientific literature. By contrast, doctors who truly deviate from ethical and legal behavior in the practice of medicine – such as sexual aggression, financial fraud, poor quality care with deadly outcome – often do not face license discipline or revocation. A group of physicians including, Dr. Sutton, is bringing a lawsuit to establish physicians' rights to speak and think independently on behalf of their patients
In concert with these physicians, she has chosen to engage in one of the most important civil rights fight of our time.
- Their case is a fight for fundamental constitutional rights and the ability to speak freely and openly without fear or threat of government harassment.
- Their case is a fight for patients having the right to medical autonomy and medical sovereignty.
- Their case is a fight for patients to choose what medical interventions are best suited for them without being denied or criminalized.
- Their case is a fight for patients to have access to all information necessary to make informed decisions and for physicians to be able to advise patients based on their expertise and knowledge without political bias and undue government interference.
- Their case will impact who gets to decide what is best for your health, you and your physician, or government agencies with explicit agendas.
- Their case is a valiant effort to stand up against the egregious government overreach of power that aims to dictate medical decisions based on government interests by putting patients last.
These physicians are fighting, not to save their careers, but to save the future of medicine and the health of patients everywhere.
We ask you to stand with Dr. Sutton and stand up for your medical rights. Legal battles are as costly as they are critical. Please join Physicians and Patients Reclaiming Medicine in supporting Dr. Sutton, and physicians like her, by making a tax deductible donation to their legal efforts and help safeguard your medical rights.
Dr. Sutton holds a doctor of medicine degree from the University of Missouri School of Medicine and is the leader of a private membership health education group.