Dr. Leo F. Kenneally v. Dan Lungren

OVERVIEW

Dr. Leo F. Kenneally filed a complaint in the district court under 42 U.S.C. § 1983 seeking to enjoin the Attorney General of the State of California and individual members of the Division of Medical Quality of the Medical Board of California from holding an administrative hearing to revoke his physician’s license. The district court abstained on the authority of Younger v. Harris, 401 U.S. 37 , 91 S.Ct. 746 , 27 L.Ed.2d 669 (1971), and dismissed the underlying action. Kenneally appeals. We have jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1291 . See Partington v. Gedan, 880 F.2d 116, 120 (9th Cir.1989), cert, denied, — U.S. -, 110 S.Ct. 3302 , 111 L.Ed.2d 810 (1990), and cert, granted and vacated on other grounds, — U.S. -, 110 S.Ct. 3265 , 111 L.Ed.2d 776 (1990). We affirm.

FACTS

Kenneally is a medical doctor who performs therapeutic abortions in his outpatient clinic. Since 1976, approximately 10,-000 abortions a year have been performed at this clinic. In April 1990, the Medical Board of California (“Board”) filed an accusation against Kenneally, accusing him of gross negligence and incompetence in the performance of abortions on six patients. Three of the six patients died…