The College Fix

Pro-abortion future doctors tried to shut down pro-life peers

A new chapter of the student organization Medical Students for Life will be allowed at Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine after university administrators overrode resistance from the student government association and others on campus.

The student government said it “was dangerous to establish an organization notorious for disseminating medical misinformation” and Medical Students for Choice told the administration the club “contradicts what we are taught in our curriculum and … could directly put patients in our community at risk as students are on rotations and enter residency,” according to Ms. Magazine.

“When we refuse to provide abortions, which are considered essential health services by the World Health Organization, it’s a violation of human rights,” one student told Ms. Magazine. “Sarah,” the pseudonym used for a medical student at Midwestern University, says the university’s decision goes against students’ desires and may harm patients.

“As a medical student, I feel betrayed by the administration’s decision,” the student said. “They have allowed a group to form under a national organization that will disseminate misinformation to patients.”

The Fix contacted Midwestern University’s Medical Students for Choice and the new Medical Students for Life twice via email in the past several weeks regarding their opinions about the administration’s decision. The pro-abortion group declined to comment and the pro-life group did not respond at all. The pro-lifers wrote a 10-page rebuttal to address accusations against the club.

The problems faced by Medical Students for Life are nothing new, according to the national Students for Life of America organization. The Midwestern University club is connected to SFLA.

“Across the country, abortion supporters often attempt and succeed in infringing upon the free speech of pro-life students, but Students for Life of America holds a firm line that pro-life speech is free speech,” spokeswoman Caroline Wharton said in an email to The Fix.

“Our student groups and our legal counsel don’t back down when necessary to protect their First Amendment rights,” she said. “After all, if our voice is silenced, how can we speak up for the voiceless in the womb?”

The university confirmed that it has approved the group.

“The University and College administration met with students on both sides of this issue, explaining the guidelines and sharing their reasons for the decision to approve this new club, while assuring the students that all medical information is monitored by faculty,” according to a statement provided to MedPage Today. “Both the Dean of Students and the Dean of the Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine are in support of this decision, along with the University President.”

Protests and discrimination against campus pro-life groups are common across campuses nationwide. At Clemson University, Tigers for Life received numerous threats, with one incident resulting in the pro-life students calling the campus police after a bomb threat.

On July 29, 2022, The Fix reported on the University of North Carolina’s student government attempt to prevent funding to any organization that advocates against abortion. The incident sparked an outcry from the local Students For Life Chapter and the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression. The student government later backed down from its statement.

MORE: University of New Mexico orders pro-life group to pay $8,140 in legal fees

IMAGE: Students for Life of America/Facebook

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