A foot and ankle surgeon who lost his license in Massachusetts over misconduct involving a patient now wants to practice medicine in Iowa. The Iowa Board of Medicine has already said it plans to deny Dr. Shaun A. Kink's application. He is fighting that decision, and a hearing is set for November 12, 2026. The board should hold firm and say no.

According to the Iowa Capital Dispatch, the record is troubling. In 2020, an Illinois grand jury charged Dr. Kink with sexually assaulting and abusing a female patient he was treating. Prosecutors said the assaults happened in the hospital and again at her home after she was discharged. Illinois suspended his license that year, saying he was an immediate threat to public safety. Prosecutors also sought to show that three more women he had treated accused him of sexual misconduct.

In late 2022, Dr. Kink pleaded guilty to soliciting a sexual act, and the assault and abuse charges were dropped as part of the deal. A judge gave him 120 days in jail followed by 18 months of probation. In 2024, Massachusetts regulators revoked his license there, pointing to that conviction and to a sexual relationship with the patient that he admitted to.

Patients trust doctors at their most vulnerable moments. Every Iowan, and especially every woman seeking care, deserves confidence that the person treating them is safe. A license taken away in one state for misconduct with a patient should not turn into a fresh start in another.

Sign the petition to urge the board to deny Dr. Kink's Iowa license at the November 12 hearing, before he can treat a single patient in this state.