In the U.S., only a small number of doctors perform abortions, mainly because they refuse to take a life, and Dr. Jeff Barrows of the Christian Medical and Dental Association says the AMA is now pushing an “opt-out” approach in med schools to change that.
If a proposal to do so is adopted, a medical student’s health-promoting training will include training in how to perform abortions. Students who are brave enough to decline will have to ask a supervisor to pull out.
“I recognize that what the AMA, along with the American College of Graduate Medical Education, is trying to do,” Barrows says, “is to really use some level of coercion with students and residents to try and get them engaged in abortion training.”
AMA is known for taking a far-left stance on vital issues, including on abortion, and discussion about abortion training took place in November at a meeting of the AMA’s policy-making body, the House of Delegates.
The proper, ethical approach, Barrows says, is for an OB/GYN resident to request to be trained in abortion. Otherwise, promoting abortion as a mandatory class will only lead to coercion and punishment for the students who refuse to comply, he insists.
