Admin Trumps Med Students: Anti-Abortion Group Allowed on Campus

Medical students at Midwestern University Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine in Glendale voiced concerns that administrators overrode the student government association to allow the anti-abortion group Medical Students for Life to set up a chapter on campus.

"Midwestern University Medical Students for Life disseminates blatant medical misinformation and encourages violent and obstructive behavior towards clinics and providers," a medical student going by the first name of 'Sarah' told Ms. Magazine in a video interview.

Another student named Alec, who is the second vice president of the Student Government Association, said in the video that the administration deemed the group had filed the appropriate paperwork and hadn't broken any rules, so they overruled the student government's vote not to allow the chapter on campus.

"It's kind of worrisome to be endorsing [Medical Students for Life] on a medical school campus," Alec told Ms. Magazine.

Midwestern University confirmed the administration's overturning of the student government vote in a statement emailed to MedPage Today.

"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," the statement said. "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."

The statement included "key facts" about the situation, citing the university's policy to "encourage freedom of expression for students of all backgrounds to explore different beliefs as related to medical care, without endorsing political positions." It noted that the university had previously approved a Medical Students for Choice club, which supports abortion.

Another "key fact" was that all student clubs must have faculty advisors, who must attend all club "educational presentations to ensure that accuracy and appropriateness of medical information can be best monitored and controlled." Medical Students for Life has agreed to the policy and will have a faculty advisor "monitor all information that might be shared on campus."

The statement also noted that the student government vote against the organization was not unanimous (the video states it was "nearly" unanimous) and a student petition against the group that went around "involved a small portion of the total medical student body."

Medical Students for Life is affiliated with Students for Life, the national anti-abortion group headquartered in Fredericksburg, Virginia, that has 1,400 student groups on campuses across the U.S., including at medical schools and law schools.

A spokesperson for Students for Life told MedPage Today that the organization has 27 Medical Students for Life chapters on U.S. medical school campuses.

Students at Midwestern University have charged that Students for Life and its med student-focused chapters promote medical misinformation, such as supporting abstinence-only education and deriding the abortion pill, which it claims would be inappropriate on a medical school campus.

In a letter about the administration's decision, reported by Ms. Magazine, Midwestern University's Medical Students for Choice members wrote, "This 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."

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