Doctor Barred From Practice Until License-Revocation Hearing Is Held : Medicine: State board accuses him of gross negligence and sexual misconduct with patients at a birthing clinic.

WESTMINSTER —  A La Habra doctor, accused by the California Medical Board of gross negligence and sexual misconduct while treating patients at his birthing clinic, was ordered Thursday by a Superior Court judge to stop practicing medicine until a hearing is held to determine whether his license should be revoked.

The preliminary injunction against Dr. Howard E. Marchbanks, 70, took effect immediately and continues for 60 days, leaving at least a dozen of his pregnant patients at the Marchbanks Alternative Birthing Center without medical attention, supporters of the doctor said at the hearing.

Despite arguments from Marchbanks’ attorney that an injunction would cause “great and irreparable injury” to his client’s practice, Superior Court Judge Robert A. Knox said: “The potential harm to the public outweighs the potential harm to the doctor.”

State officials have alleged that Marchbanks was “extremely” negligent in the delivery of two babies and that he sexually mistreated five mothers at his birthing center. The medical board is seeking the revocation of Marchbanks’ medical license.

According to Steven Rhoten, a special investigator with the medical board, Marchbanks was placed on a 10-year probation in the mid-1970s on similar malpractice charges. The doctor, however, served only seven years of the probation because he underwent an educational program that satisfied board officials, Rhoten said.

The current allegations of malpractice involve occurrences over the last three years, Rhoten said. He said he is still investigating the doctor because other mothers continue to come forward with additional charges of wrongdoing.

The complaint by the medical board states that one child born at the birthing center subsequently suffered brain damage and another experienced heart and lung problems as a result of the doctor’s negligence.

One of the incidents occurred during a “water birth”--a procedure in which a baby is immediately immersed in a warm bath in order to duplicate the environment of the womb. The method is preferred by some mothers.

The complaint alleges that during the water-birth incident, Marchbanks did not monitor the infant’s heartbeat or have the proper safety equipment nearby. A videotape of the birth shows that the baby was limp and gray when it was born and that there were no immediate efforts to give it oxygen, officials say.

“We showed (the videotape) to two (medical) experts and they were appalled,” said state Deputy Atty. Gen. Sherry Ledakis, who is handling the case.

The sexual misconduct charges stem from reports that Marchbanks often kissed, hugged and fondled women he was treating, Ledakis said. He also made lewd comments to the mothers, she added.

Several of Marchbanks’ former and present patients attended Thursday’s hearing to support the doctor, even though he did not personally appear.

Sheila Lowe, who said Marchbanks delivered her three children, said that his treatment was “beyond reproach.” She said that some of his patients may have mistakened his genuine affection and concern for them as sexual advances.

“He’s very affectionate, but he does it to everyone. . . . It might be taken the wrong way,” Lowe said. “He’s just like an old-fashion country doctor.”