San Fernando Valley : Doctor May Lose License Over Botched Abortion

State medical investigators have charged a Sun Valley physician with botching an abortion on a 19-year-old woman whose baby was later delivered alive by emergency Cesarean section but died two days later.

Dr. Kim Beauchamp failed to take the woman’s medical history, give her anesthesia or determine the age of the fetus before he started the procedure at Clinica Femenina, a now-closed abortion clinic in Downtown Los Angeles, according to a complaint by the Medical Board of California.

Within moments of beginning the abortion, the complaint alleged, Beauchamp told an assistant the fetus was “too big” and began bumping his head against a wall as he exclaimed, “Oh my God, what have I done?”

Beauchamp, 58, who has an office in Panorama City, could not be reached for comment. He has been licensed to practice in California since 1971 and has never before been the target of disciplinary proceedings.

The medical board, which disciplines doctors and other health care workers, said Beauchamp’s actions constituted “an extreme departure” from proper medical care and that his physician’s license should be revoked or suspended as a result of the 1992 incident.

If Beauchamp contests the charges, he will face a trial-like hearing before a state administrative law judge. No hearing date has yet been set, said Chappelle.