Head of Christian Doctors Group Quits AMA Over Pro-Abortion Advocacy
by Steven Ertelt
LifeNews.com Editor
December 16, 2009
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — The doctor who is the chairman of a national organization for Christian physicians and medical workers has resigned from the American Medical Association. Dr. David Stevens, the head of the 17,000-member Christian Medical Association, says the AMA has become a pro-abortion advocacy group.
Stevens told LifeNews.com on Tuesday that he is canceling his membership in the American Medical Association as a way of publicly protesting what he says is the AMA’s control by special interests that do not represent most physicians.
The AMA has come under fire for endorsing healthcare overhaul legislation after closed-door negotiations with legislators even though it contains the largest expansion of abortion funding since Roe v. Wade.
“I can no longer associate with or support an organization that is unscientific, unprofessional and controlled by special interests,” Dr. Stevens asserted in a letter sent earlier this week to the AMA.
Stevens is also advising the organization’s 17,000 members to “carefully consider if they should continue their memberships in the AMA.”
In his letter to the doctors’ group, Stevens says the "AMA has even violated its own ethical statements in political advocacy at the behest of a vocal pro-abortion faction within AMA."
The abortion advocacy Dr. Stevens condemns extends to the AMA position on the conscience rights of physicians.
"Your resolution on right of conscience states that the ‘AMA reaffirms that neither physician, hospital, nor hospital personnel shall be required to perform any act violative of personally held moral principles.’ Yet you have worked vigorously at the federal level to overturn the only federal regulation that protects your members from this type of discrimination," he explained.
Stevens cited the AMA’s support of abortion and also embryonic stem cell research as examples of policies that contradict and undermine the positions of many physicians.
Stevens concluded, “In light of radical policies, it is no wonder that AMA’s membership has dropped since the 1960’s from nearly three of four practicing doctors to closer to one in five. Personally, I no longer see any hope of changing your radical positions by working from the inside.”
While the AMA has its own set of problems, its state affiliates do as well — and may be taking conflicting positions because of a lack of leadership from the national level..
The Montana Medical Association refused to weigh in on a lawsuit seeking to legalize assisted suicide there.
Meanwhile, the Wyoming Medical Society has weighed in on various pro-life bills to limit abortions or ban assisted suicide — taking opposition positions to the bills each time.
On the other side of the coin, in August, the Wisconsin Medical Society rejected a measure that would have had the state medical group on record as supporting the practice of assisted suicide.
Related web sites:
Christian Medical Association – https://www.cmda.org
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