Pro-life perspective absent from Reproductive Health Week schedule

Pro-life perspectives were notably absent from a Chicago university’s Reproductive Health Week. 

Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Chicago hosted a workshop aimed at transgender and “non-binary” individuals, as well as the screening of a film showcasing healthcare providers performing third-trimester abortions in a compassionate light during the week. But, according to an email obtained by Campus Reform, the event did not seem to include any discussions favorable to pro-life views.

Sessions that were part of the Reproductive Health Week included one entitled “Gender-affirming Reproductive Health for Transgender and Non-binary Patients.” The university also screened ”After Tiller,” which it described as “a film that presents the complexities of women’s difficult decision [sic] to have third-trimester abortions and the compassion and ethical dilemmas faced by providers who fear for their own lives as they continue to treat patients.”

Rosalind Franklin University’s Women’s Health Interest Group, Medical Students for Choice, and Spectrum, all student groups sponsoring the event, did not respond to a Campus Reform request for comment in time for publication.

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A student at the university who asked to remain anonymous shared thoughts on the one-sided nature of the events.

“This Reproductive Health Week was bound to be extremely biased because of the groups that sponsored it,” the student told Campus Reform. “Unfortunately, there isn’t a pro-life medical students group on campus so there was not much chance of having a balanced discussion about abortion at this Health Week.”

“I think this Reproductive Health Week reflects how academics, in general, are biased toward more liberal/progressive ideas,” the student continued. “It doesn’t matter if it’s an undergraduate university or a medical school they all push progressive ideas despite the actual opinions of students there being much more varied and diverse than the professors/experts/academic teaching reflects.”

Suggesting that a better discussion could come from a movie other than “After Tiller,” the student cited ”Hush,” a multi-award-winning documentary that examines the abortion debate from a pro-life perspective, analyzing health effects after a woman receives an abortion from both psychological and medical perspectives.

[RELATED: Colleges offer certificate focused on abortion rights]

“I helped put a showing of this film on at my undergraduate school and the people that did come, came from different points of view, and had a very good and productive discussion,” the student told Campus Reform.

“I don’t think that this Reproductive Health Week was very neutral and it does not benefit the students here who want to go into the reproductive health field, or simply want to know more about these topics, because it only put forth one point of view,” she concluded.

Rosalind Franklin University did not respond to a request for comment in time for publication.

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