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I was a third year medical student at Wayne State University in Detroit serving on my gynecology rotation. On track to earn honors in the rotation and allowed to take part in all the residents' special and social activities, I worked hard to finish well. However, with about 2 weeks left, I was aksed to help one day with outpatient surgery procedures, including a few "VIPs" (voluntary interruption of pregnancies -- abortions). I let the senior resident know I didn't want to be involved and volunteered for other work. However, with much sarcasm regarding my "one of those" moral objections, I was required (in order not to be marked unwilling to help)to do the pre-operative work-up on a 17 year old girl waiting with blank stare and little response for her abortion. Then soon after, no one else showed up for the procedure except a different resident -- and things weren't going well in the O.R. for the patient. I was asked to scrub in to help with the abortion. This was really against my better judgment and conscience again, but at that point in training I was concerned that the young girl could suffer harm or die unless I did help, so scrub in I did, and witnessed the death of a baby by suction abortion, piece by piece. My spirit was screaming and praying as I professionally quietly helped. Afterward, I was ridiculed for my "moral objections". I was not invited to any special meetings or parties. I not only did not receive honors (though did well on the test), but received very negatively biased evaluations. I had no idea at that time that there were laws against such coercion and discrimination; I was concerned initially about my grade and passing the rotation and probably correctly about the young girl's life. The event has flavored my view about the abortion industry and the large defensive walls and offensive actions abortion proponents have to maintain --including discriminating against those who choose to disagree.
Mark D.
Cheboygan, MI
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