Above: Joe DeCook Scholars and sponsors at the 2025 Matthew Bulfin Educational Conference student & resident breakfast.
AAPLOG hosted a record-breaking cohort of 78 medical students and residents, as well as pre-med, midwifery, and PA students, attending MBEC 2025 via the Joe DeCook Scholarship program. MBEC included some student-specific programming, such as a student breakfast on Saturday morning, which allowed our scholars to network with each other, meet their sponsors, and receive encouragement and advice from AAPLOG, ACPeds, and American College of Family Medicine (ACFM) leaders.
Another student-specific event was our annual Honeycutt Poster Presentation Contest. The contest, named after former board member Dr. Deborah Honeycutt, gives students and residents an opportunity to present their research at a national academic conference. This yearâs Honeycutt Poster Contest winner was Thomas A. Hall, IV, a medical student at Liberty University School of Osteopathic Medicine (LUCOM). His poster, titled âFirst Steps in Modeling Ectopic Pregnancy,â showcased Thomasâs research, which seeks to develop a rat model for tubal ectopic pregnancy to facilitate greater understanding of the disease progression.Â
Above: Honeycutt contestants onstage for the award ceremony. Thomas Hall accepts his award with his young daughter in his arms.Â
On Saturday night, we invited medical students Grace Marrs and Karlee Mott onstage for a panel discussion about their experiences as pro-life medical professionals. Grace offered a powerful exposition of how her faith motivates both her pro-life beliefs and her decision to pursue medicine. Karlee shared her experience of founding Louisiana State Universityâs pro-life club in the face of fierce opposition from the student body.
Above: Grace Marrs (second from right) and Karlee Mott (far right) onstage at the Saturday night student panel.
One new feature of this yearâs conference was the student testimonials. Between plenary sessions, we were honored to have medical students Rachel Hubbard, Sydney Richetto, and Jack Murphy come onstage to share their stories of pursuing a medical career as pro-life students and advocates in a pro-abortion culture.
Rachel, a medical student, shared her moving story of the challenges she overcame and the support that helped her on her journey of motherhood (including as a teen mom) as she went through school with dreams of becoming a pediatrician. Of the OB who supported her through her pregnancies, she said:
He has made a real difference in my life, and it was his treatment of me when I was at my most vulnerable that inspired me to pursue medicine later on.
Sydney, a third-year medical student at Liberty University School of Osteopathic Medicine, thanked the AAPLOG community specifically for giving her the support and motivation to pursue medicine in a culture that doesnât share her values. Watch her full testimonial below.
Jack, a second-year medical student at Brown University, recalled that it was his time at the 2024 MBEC conference that inspired him to become more outspoken in his pro-life advocacy and make an impact for life-affirming medicine:
Just ten days after the conference last year, I got asked by a classmate to testify against a physician-assisted suicide bill that was being heard at the Rhode Island State House. Previously, this is something that I would have never done. However, because of what I experienced at last yearâs conference, I testified against the bill, and it did not pass.
We are incredibly proud to see such courageous pro-life advocates and soon-to-be physicians advancing the future of life-affirming medicine. One of AAPLOGâs priorities is to support the next generation of life-affirming medical professionals. We are excited to see our student community flourish and look forward to seeing it continue to grow and thrive in the years to come.
