Chris Lange, FISM News
The head of a pro-life physician obstetrics and gynecology association said the group was barred from attending a major medical conference this week.
Dr. Christina Francis, the incoming CEO of the American Association of Pro-Life OB-GYNs (AAPLOG), said in a video message filmed outside the event posted on Twitter Monday that, upon her arrival at the annual Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics (CREOG) OB/GYN medical education conference, she was told that the AAPLOG exhibit she booked a year in advance had been banned at the last minute by the event organizer.
Francis, an Indiana OB-GYN physician, noted that AAPLOG has had an exhibit at the annual conference, which is presented by the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ACOG), for the past 15 years and expressed frustration with ACOG’s “vague” explanation as to why her organization had been barred from this year’s event.
“Despite multiple requests for an explanation as to why, the only explanation we’ve received is a vague explanation that we disagree with ACOG, presumably on the issue of abortion,” Francis said.
She went on to note the irony of the fact that the theme of this year’s conference is “building bridges.”
“ACOG is showing, yet again, that they have no desire to build bridges with those of us who disagree, even a little bit, with them on their position on abortion,” she said.
Francis argued that ACOG’s suppression of dissenting viewpoints on abortion from medical professionals is particularly troubling, given that the conference focuses on training “the next generation” of obstetrics and gynecology physicians.
Scientific advancement is made through the free exchange of ideas and through critically looking at both sides of an issue and deciding which the evidence better supports. However, ACOG obviously is afraid for students and residents and for their medical educators to be exposed to any other position on abortion than their radical position on abortion. This is especially dangerous for medical students and residents as it normalizes intentional feticide as part of women’s health care, which we know that it is not.”
ACOG responded to FISM’s request for a comment on the AAPLOG exhibit ban with the following statement:
ACOG members are welcome to register for and attend ACOG meetings. At the CREOG – APGO Annual Meeting, ACOG also welcomes exhibitors that align with ACOG’s and APGO’s shared commitment to the advancement of evidence-based, scientific information.
Francis’s video prompted a flood of support on social media, including a response from British cardiologist, Dr. Dermot Kearney, who wrote:
“This is a very important message from Dr. Christina Francis. Maybe it’s time for obgyns and all doctors who maintain the utmost respect for human life to withdraw support from cowardly organisations like ACOG.”
“Watch how the science and debate is being silenced yet again by our authoritarian medical establishment!” Fox & Friends co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy said in a tweet that included a link to Francis’s video.
Christian author Sem Entile tweeted: “The idea of abortion can’t withstand scrutiny. They ban doctors who present the actual biology.”
Francis concluded her video post with a challenge to ACOG CEO Dr. Maureen G. Phipps to join her in a scholarly debate on abortion, a request that was applauded by Andrea Trudden, Vice President of Communications and Marketing for Heartbeat International.
This is happening too often. #ProLife views SILENCED from events. In this case, @aaplog had a 15-year history at this ACOG event only to be banned just a couple days ago. I hope @acog is open to Dr. Francis' invitation to a scholarly debate.
Discussion is good. https://t.co/UnUP6jZw7Q
— Andrea Trudden ツ (@atrudden) February 27, 2023
Prudence Robertson, the host of EWTN Pro-Life Weekly, called ACOG’s actions “despicable” in a tweet.
“Infuriating. AAPLOG DISINVITED from medical conference b/c they believe the FACTS that prove the humanity of babies in the womb,” she wrote. “Really despicable. Because AAPLOG docs are on a mission to treat BOTH of their patients, mom & baby, they are ousted from their own medical community.”
ACOG refers to abortion as “an essential component of comprehensive, evidence-based health care” on its website and states that it “is committed to protecting and increasing access to abortion.”
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