Louise P. King

Louise P. King, MD, JD, is an Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Biology at Harvard Medical School and a Surgeon within the Division of Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery at Mass General Brigham in Boston Massachusetts in the United States. Dr. King completed her juris doctorate at Tulane Law School before attending medical school at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. She completed her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Parkland Hospital in Dallas Texas and her fellowship in Minimally Invasive Surgery with Dr. Camran Nezhat at Stanford University. 

Links: https://www.thehastingscenter.org/team/louise-p-king/ | https://bioethics.hms.harvard.edu/faculty-staff/louise-p-king

Contact: louise.king@kellogg.ox.ac.uk

Ethics-related peer-reviewed scholarship

King LP, Siminoff LA, Meyer DM, Yancy CW, Ring WS, Mayo TW, Drazner MH. Health insurance and cardiac transplantation:  A call for reform.  Journal of American College of Cardiology 45(9): 1388-91, 2005.

King LP. Sex selection for nonmedical reasons.  Virtual Mentor American Medical Association Journal of Ethics 9(6): 405-469, 2007.

King LP. Why we can’t turn our backs.  Virtual Mentor American Medical Association Journal of Ethics.  10(4): 191-194, 2008.

King LP, Wendel, G.  Laborist staffing requires special attention.  Virtual Mentor American Medical Association Journal of Ethics 10(12): 792-796, 2008.

King LP, Miller, DS. Gynecologic oncology group trials in uterine corpus malignancies: Recent progress.  Journal Gynecologic Oncology 19(4): 218-222, 2008.

King LP.  Educating patients as medicine goes green.  Virtual Mentor American Medical Association Journal of Ethics 11: 427-433, 2009.

King LP, Miller DS. Recent progress: gynecologic oncology group trials in uterine corpus tumors. Rev Recent Clin Trials 2009;4:70-4.

Nezhat C, Cho J, King LP, Hajhosseini B, Nezhat F.  Laparoscopic management of adnexal masses.  Obstet Gynecol Clin North Am 2011;38:663-76.

Nezhat C, Gomaa M, Hajhosseini B, King LP.  Robotic-assisted laparoscopic treatment of bowel, bladder and ureteral endometriosis.  Journal of the Society of Laparoendoscopic Surgeons 2011; 15(3); 387-92.

Nezhat C, Hajhosseini B, King LP.  Laparoscopic management of bowel endometriosis: A study of one hundred and ninety-three cases with special reference to predictors of severe disease and recurrence.  JSLS 2011 Jul-Sep;15(3):387-92

Nezhat C, King L, Paka C, Odegaard J, Beygui R. Bilateral thoracic endometriosis affecting the lung and diaphragm - Case report. JSLS. 2012 Jan-Mar;16(1):140-2.

King LP, Hajhosseini B, Gomaa MM. Pioneers in laparoscopic colon surgery. J Am Coll Surg. 2011 Mar;212(3):423-4.

Nezhat C, Modest AM, King LP. The role of the robot in treating urinary tract endometriosis. Curr Opin Obstet Gynecol. 2013 Aug;25(4):308-11. 

King LP, Nezhat C Perils and promise in big data Fertil Steril 2015 Jun;103(6):142

Nezhat C, Falik R, McKinney S, King, LP Pathophysiology and management of urinary tract endometriosis Nat Rev Urol 2017 Jun; 14(6): 359-72

Mapes M, O’Brien B, King LP How should clinicians counsel a woman with a strong family history of early-onset alzheimer’s disease about her pregnancy?  AMA JOE AMA J Ethics. 2017 Jul 1;19(7):663-674.

King, LP, Zacharias R, Johnston J Autonomy in tension: Reproduction, Technology, and Justice Hastings Center Report Hastings Cent Rep. 2017 Dec;47 Suppl 3:S2-S5.

King LP Should clinicians set limits on reproductive autonomy? Hastings Center Report Hastings Cent Rep. 2017 Dec;47 Suppl 3:S50-S56

King LP, Penzias A. Fostering discussion when teaching abortion and other morally and spiritually charged topics.AMA J Ethics. 2018 Jul 1;20(7):E637-642.

Brennan L, Milad MP, King LP. The morcellation "debate" and the FDA 510(k) Process-A call for further reform. Obstet Gynecol Surv. 2019;74(12):679‐692.

King LP A reluctant critic: Why gynecologic surgery needs reform. Hastings Cent Rep. 2019 May;49(3):10-13.

Bayefsky MJ, DeCherney AH, King LP. Respecting autonomy-a call for truth in commercial advertising for planned oocyte cryopreservation. Fertil Steril. 2020;113(4):743‐744. 

Glaser LM, Brennan L, King LP, Milad MP. Surgeon volume in benign gynecologic surgery: A review of outcomes, impact on training, and ethical contexts. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2018 Sep 19. pii: S1553-4650(18)31245-7

Watson KL, King LP. Double discrimination, the pay gap in gynecologic surgery, and its association with quality of care. Obstet Gynecol. 2021 Apr 1;137(4):657-661. 

House KB, Kelley S, Sontag DN, King LP, Ending restraint of incarcerated individuals giving birth AMA J Ethics. 2021;23(4):E364-368. 

Schwartz KM, Wright KN, Richards EG, King LP, Park AJ. Sustainability in Healthcare: A Call to Action for Surgeons and Healthcare Leaders. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2022 Sep;29(9):1040-1042.

Abbott J, Hopkins M, King LP. Ethical Evidence. J Minim Invasive Gynecol. 2022 Jun;29(6):693-694.

Wong JMK, Carey ET, King C, Wright KN, King LP, Kho RM. A Call to Action for Ergonomic Surgical Devices Designed for Diverse Surgeon End Users. Obstet Gynecol. 2023 Mar 1;141(3):463-466

King LP, Kettering C, Sanfilippo JS. Insemination "Fraud": Potentially Criminal Actions in Reproductive Medicine. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 2023 Jun 1;66(2):261-266

Young AN, Maghsoudlou P, King LP, Rogers MS, Hornstein MD. Immunologic Aspects of Endometriosis. Curr Obstet Gynecol. 2024 Mar 1;13(1):24–36.

King LP. Harvey and Gurvir's Law: The Need for Accurate Information Balanced Against Avoiding Unnecessary Restrictions on Autonomous Decision Making. J Law Med Ethics. 2023;51(3):658-660.

Brennan LC, Milliken A, King LP. Reproductive Autonomy and Insurer Denials of Care: The Fine Line Between Oversight and Interference. J Clin Ethics. 2025 Fall;36(3):268-271. 

Baruch S, King LP, Shachar C. The Practice of Medicine-Reply. JAMA. 2025 Sep 16;334(11):1022.

King LP, Eagen-Torkko M, Franck LS, Solis E, Suárez-Baquero D, McLemore MR. Why abortion is healthcare: Response to: "Abortion is healthcare: In what sense?" Martsolf G, Tollefsen C, Curlin F. Nurs Outlook. 2025 May-Jun;73(3):102389.

Aaron DG, Robertson CT, King LP, Sage WM. A New Legal Standard for Medical Malpractice. JAMA. 2025 Feb 26. doi: 10.1001/jama.2025.0097. Epub ahead of print. PMID: 40009364.

Baruch S, King LP, Shachar C. Intrusion in the Practice of Medicine. JAMA. 2025 Apr 22;333(16):1389-1390.

Pondugula N, Maghsoudlou P, Ravitsky V, King LP. What Does Our Tolerance of Poor Management of Patients' Pain Have to Do With Reimbursement Inequity for Office-Based Gynecologic Procedures? AMA J Ethics. 2025 Feb 1;27(2):E137-148.

Eagen-Torkko M, Altman M, Chor J, Franck LS, Greenberg M, King LP, Solis E, Suárez-Baquero D, Swartz A, McLemore MR. Why abortion is healthcare. Nurs Outlook. 2025 Jan-Feb;73(1):102345.