Los Angeles - A California judge believes Octomom Nadya Suleman's fertility doctor should be allowed to keep practising medicine, and the state's move to revoke his license was too severe, according to a copy of the proposed decision obtained on Monday.
Dr Michael Kamrava should be placed on probation for five years for his substandard treatment of Suleman and two other patients, Judge Daniel Juarez said in the 46-page document provided to The Associated Press.
The Beverly Hills fertility doctor still faces a final decision by the Medical Board of California, which is expected to meet this week to discuss the case and other business. The board can approve the judge's decision or come up with its own punishment for Kamrava.
Kamrava has testified that he implanted Suleman with 12 embryos - six times the norm for a woman her age - before the pregnancy that resulted in her octuplets.
Kamrava also said Suleman had agreed to have foetal reduction if too many of the embryos became viable, but the now-infamous multi-mom never returned for follow-up care, despite his repeated attempts to reach her.
The babies were born January 26, 2009, and have become the longest-living set of octuplets in the world.
Juarez found that Kamrava “committed acts of gross negligence and repeated negligent acts” by implanting too many embryos in Suleman and a 48-year-old patient whose name was not used during the proceedings.
The other patient was implanted with seven embryos resulting in quadruplets, but one fetus died before birth.
Kamrava succeeded in presenting a defence to the majority of allegations, the judge said.
The evidence did not establish Kamrava “as a maverick or deviant physician, oblivious to standards of care”, the decision said.
The decision proposes to revoke Kamrava's licence then stay the action and place him on probation for five years.
Under probation, Kamrava would be required to enroll in an ethics course, have his practice monitored by a licensed physician and submit quarterly reports on his compliance.
A call to Kamrava's lawyer Henry Fenton was not immediately returned. - Sapa-AP