In an exclusive interview with The Defender, Dr. Mary Kelly Sutton recounts how she lost her medical license — in two states — after being accused of improperly exempting eight children from required school vaccinations.
The Massachusetts medical board last month revoked the medical license of Dr. Mary Kelly Sutton, following the California medical board’s decision last year to revoke her license for, according to the board, improperly exempting eight children from required school vaccinations.
The California board alleged that Sutton — an integrative physician, licensed and practicing since the early 1970s — had written the exemptions based on a rationale that was not fully compliant with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) guidelines.
The board disciplined her as part of California’s move in recent years to cut back on medical exemptions for vaccines by sanctioning doctors who provide them.
California first revoked Sutton’s license on Dec. 8, 2021, effective January 2022. She appealed the revocation, filing two writs of mandate in Superior Court in March 2022. The California board had prematurely closed her case despite the filing of the writs, and the ongoing appeals process.
On Dec. 20, 2021, the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Medicine filed a complaint against Sutton, saying it was enacting “reciprocal discipline” against her, mirroring the discipline imposed by the California board — even though Sutton had not violated any rules or laws in Massachusetts, where she had been licensed to practice medicine since 2015.
The Massachusetts board informed Sutton that a committee would investigate her actions and make a disciplinary recommendation to the board unless she opted to resign.
Sutton was residing and practicing in Massachusetts at the time, where she had moved to be near her grandchildren. She had no interest in resigning.
Upon learning her California case was being appealed, the Massachusetts board initially stayed the proceeding.
But on Sep. 8, 2022, the board issued a Statement of Allegations against Sutton, stating that she had engaged in conduct — in California — that placed into question her ability to practice medicine, that she “lacks good moral character” and has behaved in a way that “undermines the public confidence in the integrity of the medical profession.”
