As your Dr. Edward Hannigan fellows at the University of Texas Health School of Medicine, Lauren Brown and I have been working together to establish a Pro-Life culture at our medical school.
2019 was a great year for us; 2020 has not been as active due to the COVID-19 restrictions.
The message was clear from the beginning of medical school that the prevailing opinion and doctrine of the medical student culture was anti-Life. Rejecting that status quo, I became involved with our campus Pro-Life organization, “The Tiny Patient Project.”
Our involvement with our school took the form of inviting speakers to present at lunches sponsored by Texas Right to Life. We began the year strong with a visit from OB/GYN, Dr. Anthony Levatino, also an attorney. As a former abortionist, Dr. Levatino gave an amazing account and testimonial of his conversion to the Pro-Life cause and added a large element of legitimacy to our club. A while later, we invited another attorney, Anne Newman, to speak about the impact of birth control and how birth control relates to abortion. John Seago, Legislative Director for Texas Right to Life, later headlined a session about the Texas Advanced Directives Act and prompted a solid discussion on medical ethics and public policy.
One of our own faculty members, Dr. Judianne Kellaway, spoke about adoption. She gave an incredible story about her own son and shed light on a fantastic alternative to abortion. Because the topic and Dr. Kellaway’s remarks unified students from both sides of the abortion issue, the event proved momentous.
We ended our year with a discussion from Dawn Milberger, an endearing woman who is an abortion survivor. Seeing and hearing from another person who would otherwise not be with us was a very powerful experience.
Overall, the year was successful in outreach and generating awareness on myriad Life issues. Even anti-Life students felt welcome to dialogue and engage us.
We are very appreciative of the support provided to us by Texas Right to Life, and we thank all speakers who were involved. Looking forward to next year!
Christian Jacobsen
MD Candidate UT Health San Antonio: Class of 2022