Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 1989. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
San Francisco Chronicle - Friday, September 1, 1989
David Tuller, Chronicle Staff Writer
In a letter of resignation submitted early last month, Day wrote that "as with any hazardous duty, such as manning the front lines in a war, those at highest risk eventually must be rotated off the front lines."
She added that she "regret(s) that the risk-benefit ratio of working here as an orthopedic surgeon has reached the point that I cannot justify continuing."
Day, who could not be reached for comment yesterday, has consistently held that surgeons are at substantial risk for being infected with the AIDS virus. Other medical authorities generally maintain that the risk is minimal if proper precautions are taken.
"She's entitled to her views, but often her peers have been distressed because those views were not scientifically founded," said Dr. David Werdegar, the director of the city's Department of Public Health.
Advocates for people with AIDS, who have bitterly opposed her, expressed relief at her decision, which is effective early next year.
"When someone with her credentials speaks out in this unfortunate way, it causes unnecessary hysteria," said Pat Christen, acting executive director of the San Francisco AIDS Foundation.
Day was an active supporter of Proposition 102, the losing AIDS initiative on the November ballot that would have required health care professionals to report the names of those infected with HIV. Earlier this year, Day persuaded a recreation center for the handicapped to ban those infected with HIV from using its swimming pool.
The center reversed its position when city health officials intervened and said that the virus could not be passed through water.
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