By Myriam Diallo
As we resume our member updates after a brief hiatus in August, our team wanted to start by sharing some bittersweet news.
After three and a half amazing years at AAPLOG, during which I have had the privilege of writing these articles for our member update newsletters (among many other things), I am stepping back from my role as this team’s Communications Manager to focus on my family and children full time.
But while I still have the mic, so to speak, I wanted to leave you with some quick reflections and words of encouragement.
On the evening of May 2, 2022, just a few weeks after my first day on this team, a news story broke that changed our nation’s — and AAPLOG’s — history forever. The news outlet POLITICO had obtained what was supposed to be a confidential draft of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, which was about Mississippi’s abortion law. The headlines spread across the country like wildfire: the Court would be ruling to overturn its previous decisions in Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey, which for five decades had kept elective induced abortion legal in every state, and to return the question of abortion’s legality to the people through their elected officials.
With the pro-life movement finally having accomplished its biggest strategic objective of half a century, it became clear that our work had only begun – and in this post-Roe era, the voices of medical professionals would be more crucial than ever before. Pro-abortion groups – even major medical professional organizations – spread blatant medical misinformation in the media designed to scare Americans into rejecting pro-life laws and accept dangerously low standards of care for women seeking abortion drugs. As I’m sure all of you saw, these dishonest tactics were harming women across the country – your patients.
Naturally, AAPLOG’s leaders and members rose handily to the occasion to combat these false narratives in the public square. You fought to set the record straight. During my time on this team, our communications team has staffed our doctors in interviews with every major news outlet in the country. This includes outlets on every side of the political spectrum, from values-aligned to downright hostile. As various journalists have sought your expert insights on life issues, in a short time, AAPLOG has secured its position as the medical voice of the post-Roe pro-life movement, shaping messaging and priorities for advocates across the country.
At the same time, by engaging the media, AAPLOG has been offering a crucial second opinion on these issues to the medical community. As organizations like ACOG have taken an increasingly extremist position on abortion and silencing any debate on the issue (literally! In 2023, they declined our invitation to a debate hosted by Duke University), an increasing number of medical professionals have felt disenfranchised by them. AAPLOG has offered a voice of reason and a reminder that many physicians still hold to the purpose of obstetrics that you were taught in medical school: to care for two patients – pregnant women and preborn babies.
The past three years have offered me the honor of watching our members grow as pro-life advocates. Many of you went from sharing your professional insights with journalists for small outlets to seeing your columns published in national outlets, being featured in national television segments, speaking at major pro-life events, and much more.
With every media request I relayed to you (often under unreasonably tight reporter deadlines – so sorry!), I learned something new in your responses — new facts, insights, and anecdotes to work into our messaging. Each of your thoughts has been invaluable to both the organization and movement overall.
(By the way, if you have not been media trained already, please be sure to sign up for our upcoming virtual session! Our media trainer, my colleague Kate Connolly, does a phenomenal job equipping medical professionals to defend the life-affirming philosophy of medicine in a wide range of environments.)
Your growth has been evident in the impact you’ve made across the country. Government bodies in states like South Dakota and Texas have turned to you for guidance on how to combat pro-abortion misinformation and support medical professionals. National news outlets like NBC, Fox News, and POLITICO recognize AAPLOG as one of the leading pro-life organizations in the country. The White House has taken notice of you, including a key AAPLOG Action policy priority in the President’s 2026 Budget Request. And you’re only just getting started.
As AAPLOG continues to forge a new path forward in medicine, I am confident that you will completely transform both the medical community and our nation’s culture. I look forward to cheering you all on from the sidelines.
With utmost gratitude,
Myriam Diallo
From the CEO – Myriam’s departure from the AAPLOG team (at least as a staff member) is so bittersweet. As any of you who have had the privilege of interacting with her know, she was always ready with boundless energy, words of encouragement, and just the right response to the opposition. She has left a lasting impression on this organization and has been an amazing support for all of our media trained members as you spoke boldly in defense of life in the public square. She will be greatly missed but we wish her all the best as she focuses on her most important role – the mother of two young boys!
