Above: (l-r), Donna Harrison, MD, Besty Morton, CMN, Chris Cirucci, MD, Christina Francis, MD, Ingrid Skop, MD and Susan Bane, MD on Sept. 15, 2025
On September 15th, members of the AAPLOG Board and staff joined lawmakers in Washington, D.C. for a day of pro-life advocacy and education. We successfully conveyed our mission to support life-affirming medical professionals as the leading medical voice in the pro-life movement. It is our hope that by building positive relationships on Capitol Hill, members of Congress and their staff will turn to AAPLOG for guidance on public policy issues that impact our members and patients.
Our board members met with 15 different offices of representatives and senators from across the United States, and we especially thank the offices of Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune for meeting with our team. The primary issues we addressed with lawmakers were the dangers of mifepristone and the importance of returning abortion training to an opt-in option for medical students.
On the topic of mifepristone-induced abortion, our team raised the alarm bell for lawmakers about the dangerous removal of critical safeguards around this high risk drug. We specifically addressed the risk of sepsis from Clostridium sordellii. This infection has a mortality rate of 70%-90% and is especially dangerous because it does not present with traditional features of sepsis; women present without a fever and with non-specific symptoms, including nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and abdominal pain. Clinicians must have a high index of suspicion in order to diagnose and treat Clostridial sepsis. However, women who take mifepristone do not receive follow-up care from their online prescribers and are often told by their prescribers to say they’re having a miscarriage if they need to be seen in the emergency room, thus delaying proper diagnosis and potentially life-saving treatment. We emphasized to legislators the need for the CDC and the FDA to immediately investigate the true incidence of these infections and use that knowledge to direct evidence-based assessment of the overall safety of mifepristone, require in-person visits both before and after taking mifepristone, support further research into the side effects of mifepristone use, and reinstate mandatory non-fatal complications reporting for mifepristone-induced abortions.
Our second legislative request was on behalf of our members who are being pressured throughout their medical training to abandon their conscience and participate in induced abortions. Time and again, medical students and residents have told us about the immense pressure and coercion they have experienced after opting out of abortion training. This violation of conscience rights is a direct consequence of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME)’s 2018 decision to make abortion training required (with only an opt-out option) at all accredited GME programs. AAPLOG’s representatives urged legislators to ensure that any GME program receiving federal funds offers abortion training only as an opt-in option in order to be in compliance with federal conscience protections such as the Coates-Snow Amendment. This language is currently included the Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, which has already passed through the U.S. House of Representatives. Stay tuned for updates on this important work that AAPLOG is doing on behalf of you, our members.
Overall, AAPLOG’s day on Capitol Hill was a major success. We will continue to represent you and our patients in the public square and hope to see further collaboration and interest from these lawmakers in the future in advancing life-affirming healthcare across the country.
