Four pro-life Republican leaders in U.S. Congress criticized the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) for kicking out pro-life doctors at the last minute from a national conference this week in Maryland.
Despite having exhibited at the conference for the past 15 years and having received approval to exhibit again this year, the American Association of Pro-Life OB-GYNs (AAPLOG) said the medical organization revoked its permission right before the event began on Feb. 27.
On Friday, U.S. Reps. Chris Smith of New Jersey, Virginia Foxx of North Carolina, Chip Roy of Texas and Diana Harshbarger of Tennessee slammed ACOG for its “hypocritical and outrageous” actions, according to Fox News.
“The reported decision by ACOG — an organization purporting to represent all obstetrician-gynecologists — to exclude qualified health care professionals of maternal and child care from presenting at an annual conference because of their pro-life positions is hypocritical and outrageous,” the lawmakers told ACOG in a letter.
The pro-life lawmakers said ACOG cannot pretend to be unbiased, especially after this latest stunt. They also pointed to a “language guide” from the organization that tells doctors to use “euphemisms that hide the realities of abortion” and one of its goals to “increase the availability of trained abortion providers.”
The medical organization is engaged in “active and deliberate work to promote abortion on demand and spread misinformation about the pro-life movement,” the lawmakers wrote. “ACOG makes no secret of its extreme abortion agenda,” they continued.
They urged ACOG to stop discriminating against pro-life doctors, and promised to “press for immediate changes” such as “taking ACOG to task in meetings or refusing meetings until they change course–and encourage other Members to do the same.”
On Feb. 27, Dr. Christina Francis, an Indiana OB-GYN and CEO of the pro-life AAPLOG, explained what happened in a video on Twitter while she was standing outside the conference of the Council on Resident Education in Obstetrics and Gynecology (CREOG) and the Association of Professors of Gynecologists and Obstetricians in Maryland.
ACTION ALERT: To complain about the banning contact ACOG at districtoffice@acog.org or (202) 863-2531.
“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,” she said in the video.
Later, a spokesperson for ACOG confirmed to the Catholic News Agency that they now only “welcome exhibitors and meeting participants that align with ACOG’s and APGO’s shared commitment to the advancement of evidence-based, scientific information.”
Responding, Francis slammed ACOG leaders as “cowardly” and questioned if they will answer her request for a scholarly debate.
“If ACOG is so sure its position is evidence-based, we hope the organization will accept our invitation for a respectful and scholarly debate on the issue,” she told CNA.
“We wonder why ACOG is so afraid of our patients and the next generation of OB-GYNs hearing the evidence of abortion’s harm to women’s health,” Francis continued. “Furthermore, the scientific evidence clearly supports that abortion ends the life of a human being in the womb.”
The Indiana physician said the decision to exclude pro-life doctors hurts medical students and residents, scientific debate and, most of all, “the people that OB-GYNs are sworn to serve: our patients.”
Although ACOG continues to be quoted as a reputable, unbiased source in many media outlets, the association has grown increasingly pro-abortion in recent years. Last year, Francis told Fox News that ACOG clearly has a pro-abortion “political agenda.” For example, the group suddenly developed an “aversion to the word ‘heartbeat’” after Texas passed its heartbeat law in 2021.
Last year, the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology also caused alarm after it threatened to decertify physicians who provide alleged “misinformation and disinformation” about abortion to patients.
The medical board claims abortions are an “essential” part of “reproductive health.” And doctors who disagree could be punished.
Increasingly, mainstream news outlets, Facebook, Twitter and internet giants like YouTube have been labeling information about abortion risks and alternatives as “misinformation” or “false” — not because it actually is but because abortion activists deny evidence that contradicts their mission.
Now, doctors are worried that medical boards may begin doing the same, forcing them out of their jobs because they share studies showing links between infertility, breast cancer, mental health problems and abortion; or because they help a woman reverse the effects of the abortion pill mifepristone in an attempt to save her baby’s life.
Some doctors already have been suspended and subjected to years-long investigations for sharing information about abortion that pro-abortion groups don’t like.
Another troubling sign, the U.S. House Pro-Choice Caucus published a talking points memo last year that told lawmakers to say “refusal of care/denial of care laws” instead of conscience protections, suggesting they want to end religious freedom protections for pro-life medical workers who object to aborting unborn babies.
ACTION ALERT: To complain about the banning contact ACOG at districtoffice@acog.org or (202) 863-2531.
