About the Conference
Bring your family to enjoy a popular Orlando location (hotel is across from SeaWorld!) while you enjoy a top-notch medical conference.
About the Conference
Venue
A great location for a fun family vacation
The Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld® has everything you love about Florida, all in one location. Our Orlando waterpark resort is within walking distance of SeaWorld® and all of Orlando’s most celebrated attractions are just a quick shuttle ride away.
MBEC attendees have a negotiated rate of $229 + $10 resort fee + tax (currently 12.5%). This is for a King or Double/Queen room.
New this year!
You will be able to select your hotel options and reserve your room during the registration process. **Please do not call the hotel or book via the hotel website as you will not receive the negotiated conference rate.
The property is only 13 miles from the Orlando airport. There is not a hotel airport shuttle, however Uber, Lyft and Taxis are readily available.
This activity has been planned and implemented in accordance with the accreditation requirements and policies of the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) through the joint providership of Christian Medical & Dental Associations and American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG). The Christian Medical & Dental Associations is accredited by the ACCME to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The Christian Medical & Dental Associations designates this educational activity for a maximum of 13.75 AMA PRA Category 1 Credits(s)TM. Physicians should only claim credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Medical Students & Residents
Pre-Conference Events
The Way of Medicine: Ethics and the Healing Profession
The workshop introduces participants to the arguments put forward in Curlin and Tollefsen’s recent book by the same title. Participants will consider two rival accounts of what medicine is for that are operative in contemporary medicine, the providers of services model and the Way of Medicine. We’ll consider the difference these accounts make for how medical practitioners understand their professional obligations, with particular focus on the domain of sexual and reproductive healthcare. Topics covered will include:
- The purpose of medicine: What is it and why does it matter?
- Foundations of medical ethics
- The doctor-patient relationship 101: What characterizes a good physician?
- Challenges in sexual and reproductive health care
- Abortion
- Conscience and contending for good medicine
Expert Legal /
Media Training
The Way of Medicine: Ethics and the Healing Profession
The workshop introduces participants to the arguments put forward in Curlin and Tollefsen’s recent book by the same title. Participants will consider two rival accounts of what medicine is for that are operative in contemporary medicine, the providers of services model and the Way of Medicine. We’ll consider the difference these accounts make for how medical practitioners understand their professional obligations, with particular focus on the domain of sexual and reproductive healthcare. Topics covered will include:
- The purpose of medicine: What is it and why does it matter?
- Foundations of medical ethics
- The doctor-patient relationship 101: What characterizes a good physician?
- Challenges in sexual and reproductive health care
- Abortion
- Conscience and contending for good medicine
Expert Legal /
Media Training
This invaluable professional development will consist of a small amount of homework to be done ahead of time (short reading and videos), followed by a day of practical hands-on training where you will learn how to speak to media and be able to clearly articulate your position, how to testify at state legislative hearings, and how to survive a deposition as well as serve as an expert witness in court.
Training will be provided by national experts.
Lunch is included.
Mini-Conference with FACTS about Fertility, Beyond the FACTS: Options for Expanding My Knowledge
This session will introduce the concept of reproductive life planning, address the role of female cycle tracking and restorative reproductive medicine, and discuss the impact of lifestyle and its effect on women’s health. Since the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recognizes the menstrual cycle as the fifth vital sign, we will demonstrate how the cycle chart aids in monitoring and managing women’s health. FACTS leaders will equip colleagues with patient education resources, including an evidence-based shared decision-making tool, as well as resources for Spanish speaking and underserved populations. We will also highlight opportunities for students, residents and physicians to expand their knowledge.
Research Bootcamp
Want to enhance your understanding of the academic literature? Want to empower yourself with skills to be a peer reviewer? If so, join us for a 3-hour pre-conference research boot camp that will focus on:
- The nuts and bolts of analyzing a research article.
- The basics of common statistical tools and methods.
- The importance of pro-life voices in peer review, how to get started, and time to practice newly learned skills.
Pre-conference networking event (with cash bar)
The Way of Medicine
Schedule
(Pre-Conference/Optional) Research Bootcamp
8:00 AM – 12:00 PM
Dr. Kerri Brackney is a board-certified OB/GYN and is a registered fellowship graduate in Maternal Fetal Medicine. She currently works as a private practice MFM physician in Memphis, Tennessee with Mid-South Maternal Fetal Medicine. Dr. Brackney received her undergraduate education at Bryan College in Dayton, TN. She completed medical school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2006 and her OB/GYN residency at Penn State Health in 2010. After practicing as an OB/GYN for eight years, she completed a one-year fellowship in Obstetric Ultrasound at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2019 followed by a three-year fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine at the combined MetroHealth/University Hospitals/Case Western Reserve University program in 2022.
Dr. Brackney is a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Association and its outreach, the Women Physician and Dentists in Christ. She served for three years with a Christian Community Health center in Memphis, and enjoys providing high risk obstetrical care for the underserved. She serves on several committees with the Society for Maternal Fetal Medicine. She volunteers for a local pregnancy resource center, reading obstetric ultrasound. She has a passion for both domestic and foreign missions and longs to see an American culture in which abortion is unthinkable.
8:15 AM Q&A @ 8:45 AM
Dr. Susan Bane is a 1987 graduate of Atlantic Christian College, now Barton College. She has practiced obstetrics and gynecology for 25 years, including in private practice at Greenville Obstetrics and Gynecology and serving as a clinical professor at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. She is currently the Medical Director at Choices Women’s Center in Wilson, where she oversees the medical aspects of the Center and sees patients with unintended pregnancies. She is also the Director of the Barton College – Area L AHEC Partnership that supports healthcare workforce development.
Dr. Bane completed a PhD in Kinesiology and her medical degree from the University of Illinois. She holds multiple certifications, including a national-board certification in health and wellness coaching, emotional intelligence coaching, and functional medicine. She recently completed the Theology, Medicine, and Culture Certification program at Duke Divinity School. She uses her love of learning in her consulting work as she writes, presents, and educates about transforming the field of Obstetrics and Gynecology with the love and wisdom of God.
Dr. Bane is involved in a variety of community activities, including her church, St. Therese Catholic Church, and participates in autism advocacy work, as her youngest son, Maxwell, has autism. She has been married for 35 years to her husband, Art, and has three children: Archer, married to Virginia, and they have one daughter, Townshend, Riley, married to Titus, and Maxwell, who won’t be getting married, but will be keeping Dr. Bane and her husband company for years to come.
She considers her family her greatest accomplishment.
Peer Review Basics: How and Why to Become a Peer Reviewer
9:00 AM Q&A @ 9:45 AM
ACADEMIC DATA
Bachelor of Pharmacy Analytical-Clinical Orientation by the University of Valencia, Pharmacist Specialist in Clinical Analysis, Master in Bioethics and Doctor by the Catholic University of Valencia San Vicente Mártir.
Professor Accredited by ANECA, with a six-year research period.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
Community pharmacist since 1982.
Head of the Julio Tudela Pharmacy Office since 1997.
Pharmacist Specialist in Clinical Analysis, Head of Clinical Analysis Laboratory Julio Tudela since 1994.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Associate Professor at the Catholic University of Valencia, Spain (UCV) from 2008 to present, teaching the subjects School Health (Bachelor’s Degree in Children), Anthropology of Gender (Degree in Anthropology) and Bioethics (Degree in Medicine, Degree in Philosophy, Degree in Anthropology, Master’s Degree in Bioethics, Master’s Degree in Anthropology Personalist, Master in Management of Health Centers, Master in Marriage and Family Sciences from the Juan Pablo II Institute ).
Professor at the Catholic University of Ávila (Spain), Anáhuac (México) and USAT (Perú).
I have been a Professor at the Distance University of Madrid (UDIMA) and the International University of Valencia (VIU) (Spain).
I have given teaching sessions at the University of Navarra (Spain).
Professor Accredited by ANECA.
RESEARCH EXPERIENCE
Research in Bioethics, Institute of Life Sciences of the Catholic University of Valencia, with more than 30 scientific articles published and twelve book chapters.
I have participated in 22 Congresses with presentations and communications. I have directed more than 80 Projects End of Degree and End of Master.
I am currently the Director of Life Sciences Institute, Bioethics Observatory and the Master in Bioethics at the Catholic University of Valencia.
I have participated as a teacher in different training courses for non-university teachers in the areas of neuropedagogy, sexual education and prevention of addictive behaviors.
Member of the Scientific Committee of the Tomás Moro Chair of the UCV.
Member of the Research Ethics Committee of the UCV.
Member of the Research Ethics Committee with Medicines of the Valencian Institute of Oncology (IVO)
Vicepresident of de Spanish Association of Social Pharmacy (AEFAS)
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS
Member of different Professional Associations in the field of Pharmacy and Bioethics: AEFA, AEBC, AEFAS, AEFC, AEBI, SVB, APLAC.
*virtual – Turnaway Cohort: How to understand Published Studies
10:00 AM Q&A @ 10:45 AM
Patrick Yeung Jr. MD is a Board-Certified Obstetrician-Gynecologist and a Fellow of the American College of Obstetrics & Gynecology (FACOG). He is an Adjunct Professor at Saint Louis University, and is Founder and Director of the SLUCare Center for Endometriosis and SLUCare Restorative Fertility Clinic.
Dr. Yeung has always felt called to pursue academic medicine, and believes that changing paradigms requires research, publication and teaching. He is a member of the World Endometriosis Research Foundation (WERF), the American Academy of FertilityCare Professionals (AAFCP), and the International Institute for Restorative Reproductive Medicine (IIRRM). Dr. Yeung has authored multiple original, peer-reviewed publications and been invited to speak nationally and internationally, and has been voted one of Best Doctors annually since 2013.
Dr. Yeung has a true heart for women with endometriosis-associated infertility and pain, and tells patients that we are ‘all in this together’. He and his wife Dorothy struggled with infertility and endometriosis for 4 years. Dr. Yeung tries to combine the best of optimal excision of endometriosis and adhesion prevention for patients he serves. He believes good ethics is good medicine, and has a passion for restorative surgery and cooperative medicine.
*virtual – Database studies: Pearls and Pitfalls
11:00 AM
Breakfast on Own
Conference Begins
8:30 AM
Biography
Website: https://www.drjoemalone.com
Dr. Joe Malone, a physiologist, taught for many years at Middle Tennessee State University and has guest lectured at Vanderbilt, Princeton, University of Miami, University of Alabama, and Catholic University of America as well as other major universities. He taught classes that ranged from Health and Wellness to Fitness Education for the Adult. He created a new course in 2012 called Women’s Personal Conditioning along with a sorority wellness program in which he not only taught standard wellness but also the importance of sexual integrity as foundational to wellness. Dr. Malone is becoming known as The Sexual Integrity Scientist. He was named Greek Faculty Member of the year in 2010 and 2016 for his wellness work with sororities. Additionally, Dr. Malone has worked with fraternities to promote greater sexual integrity among the young men. He holds a Ph.D. in Health and Human Performance with a minor in neuropsychology and a specialization in women’s health and sexual wellness.
Dr. Malone’s writing has been published in Heartbeat International’s Sexual Integrity Communiqué, Faith and Fitness Magazine, the Institute for Family Studies, Natural Womanhood, Live Free Ministries, and Christian Health Magazine. Malone has also earned national certifications as a Sexual Risk Avoidance Specialist, Personal Trainer, Lifestyle and Weight Management Consultant, and Fitness Educator. He is the former Chair of the Nashville Community Health and Wellness Team and the current Topic Network Chair for Health Promotion for the Society for the Study of Emerging Adulthood http://ssea.org/.
Dr. Malone served on the CDC initiative for STI prevention for the state of Tennessee. He has been happily married to his wife Jody for over 46 years. Dr. Malone is co-author of Battles of the Sexes https://www.amazon.com/Battles-Sexes-Raising-Conflict-Empower/dp/1683508777 and author of the new book Women’s Sexual Wellness, and cofounder with Jody of the sexual integrity and intelligence initiative Sex IQ https://www.sexiq.org/
Sexual Integrity: The Cornerstone of Happiness and Health
8:45 AM – 9:30 AM
Objectives
- Discuss the importance of sexual integrity leading to marriage in human history and relatedly how our society has been affected by the sexual revolution starting in the 1970s
- Define the biologically-based male and female sex differences in brain biochemistry and anatomy and how they complicate 21st-century relationships
- Describe the physiological traits that show that monogamy is the optimal relationship form for humans
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Dr. Chisolm is Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University, with a secondary appointment in the department of Internal Medicine. She has 3 decades of clinical experience, has served as PI or co-investigator on multiple nationally funded research projects, and has published over 100 scientific, clinical, and medical education papers on psychiatric disorders and humanistic medical practice, as well as two textbooks and – most recently – a book for patients and families living with mental illness: From Survive to Thrive: Living Your Best Life with Mental Illness. Dr. Chisolm is a member of the Miller Coulson Academy of Clinical Excellence and the Director of the Paul McHugh Program for Human Flourishing where she uses the arts and humanities to explore the ‘big questions’ – what it means to be human, to be a physician, and to lead a good life (for doctors and patients) – with medical learners. She completed the Harvard Macy Institute Art Museum-based Health Professions Education fellowship and is a certified Visual Thinking Strategies facilitator and coach.
The assessment and care of patients using the Perspectives of Psychiatry and Flourishing models
9:35 AM – 10:20 AM
Objectives
- Participants will be able to name the four Perspectives of Psychiatry and the conceptual triad underlying each of these
- Participants will be able to list the Flourishing model’s four pathways to and five domains of human flourishing
- Participants will be able to describe how to apply the Perspectives approach and Flourishing model to a case example
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Q&A Session for Dr. Malone & Dr. Chisolm
10:20 AM – 10:30 AM
Morning Break / Exhibitors
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Biography
Dr. Calum Miller is a medical doctor and a research fellow at the University of Oxford, where he teaches philosophy and researches abortion policy from medical, ethical, legal and sociological perspectives. He graduated from the University of Oxford Medical School in 2015 and holds a master’s degree with distinction in Biblical studies.
Dr. Miller has published over 30 academic papers on topics including maternal mortality in the developing world, the empirical impact of abortion bans on women, the ethics of voting on abortion, animal and fetal pain, abortion and mental health, telemedicine abortion, academic freedom, and the philosophy of religion. He has received prizes from the University of Oxford and Royal College of Psychiatrists for his work on Bioethics.
Dr. Miller has presented to parliamentarians and governments across the world, including testifying for the Ecuadorian Justice Committee and speaking at the White House. He has given over 40 academic presentations internationally and has taken part in multiple debates, including several against the CEO of the UK’s largest private abortion provider BPAS. Dr. Miller regularly appears in mainstream media and on major podcasts including the BBC, Triggernometry, JustPearlyThings and the Tammy Peterson Podcast. He has been invited to speak to various professional groups including the Association of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Uganda, the Indonesian Association for Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and the Philippines Medical Association. He also founded the Society for Christian Bioethicists.
Public policy’s impact on abortion rates
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Objectives
- Describe the impact of welfare, contraception promotion, sex education and abortion restrictions on abortion rates
- Understand the nuances of these categories
- Understand the impact of broader context on the relationship between these variables and abortion rates
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Dr. Naomi Whittaker is the founder of RRMAcademy.org and is an OBGYN fertility surgeon focused on women’s restorative reproductive medicine, compassionate healthcare, and education.
Dr. Whittaker is a board certified OBGYN and a fellowship trained surgeon who specializes in the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaProTechnology, which works cooperatively with a woman’s body to treat the underlying cause of gynecologic issues and infertility, such as endometriosis and PCOS.
Dr. Whittaker helps women improve their gynecologic health, and avoid/achieve pregnancy in accordance with their natural fertility using the latest research, medicine, and surgery.
Dr. Whittaker earned her medical degree at Creighton University School of Medicine and completed her residency in OB/GYN at OSF Hospital in Peoria, IL. She then completed the Saint John Paul II Fellowship in Medical and Surgical NaProTECHNOLOGY at the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska. She also received the Focused Practice Designation in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Whittaker is currently practising in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
You can find her on Instagram as Napro_Fertility_Surgeon.
Treating infertility without IVF
11:50 AM – 12:35 PM
Objectives
- Provide an overview of the standard approach to infertility
- Compare current approach to restorative fertility options
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Q&A Session for Dr. Miller & Dr. Whittaker
12:35 PM – 12:45 PM
Lunch / Exhibitors
12:45 PM – 2:00 PM
Biography
Dr. Kerri Brackney is dually board-certified in Obstetrics & Gynecology and Maternal Fetal Medicine. She currently works as an academic MFM physician in Memphis, Tennessee. In addition to training students, residents and fellows, she directs the Regional One Health Perinatal Infectious Disease clinic, serves on the oversight committee for the Tennessee Initiative for Perinatal Quality Care, and is a member of the Tennessee Perinatal Advisory Committee. Her clinical and research interests include cardiovasculardisease, sickle cell disease and HIV in pregnancy, as well as prenatal diagnosis and racial disparities inobstetrics.
Dr. Brackney received her undergraduate education at Bryan College in Dayton, TN. She completed medical school at the University of Maryland School of Medicine in 2006 and her OB/GYN residency at Penn State Health in 2010. After practicing as an OB/GYN for eight years, she completed a one-year fellowship in Obstetric Ultrasound at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center in 2019 followed by a three-year fellowship in Maternal Fetal Medicine at the combined MetroHealth/University Hospitals/Case Western Reserve University program in 2022.
Dr. Brackney is a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA) and its outreach, the Women Physician and Dentists in Christ. She is on the AAPLOG board and helps lead the CMDA ObGyn Section. She served for three years with Christ Community Health Services in Memphis, and enjoys providing high risk obstetrical care for the underserved. She volunteers for a pregnancy resource center, reading obstetric ultrasound. She has a passion for both domestic and foreign missions and longs to see an American culture in which abortion is unthinkable.
Biography
Dr. Robin Pierucci is a wife, mother, and neonatologist. She has a Master’s degree in bioethics, has completed the National Catholic Bioethics Center certificate program. This background dovetails with her research, publications, and ongoing involvement in championing provision of care for babies at the edge of viability, for infants and their families affected by in utero drug exposure, and her latest endeavor, the creation of a clinic devoted to care of families and their babies who have a fetal anomaly. She has multiple publications in peer and non-peer reviewed journals and has spoken around the country on multiple perinatal and ethical topics. Dr. Pierucci, a Jewish convert to Catholicism, has appeared on a number of programs aired on EWTN including, Women of Grace, The Journey Home, EWTN Live, and Pro-Life Weekly. She has become increasingly active testifying about the reality of fetal pain and the edge of viability, including testifying on Capitol Hill for the Born Alive Protection Act. Dr Pierucci is a member of the Catholic Medical Association, an associate scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute and a board member of the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) where she is also the co-chair of their pro-life council.
Biography
Brandon P. Brown, MD, MA, FAAP
Dr. Brandon Brown is a pediatric radiologist, working at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health as the Chief of Fetal and Perinatal Imaging, and formerly as Director of Physician Vitality and Values for Indiana University Health. He completed his undergraduate degree in political philosophy at the University of Dallas in Texas and completed a joint degree program in medicine and philosophy at Indiana University.
His clinical work is at the intersection of several areas of medicine as one of the founders of The Fetal Center at Riley Children’s Health, and he is a member of the Departments of Radiology, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Surgery, Philosophy and Medical Humanities. Dr. Brown’s research focuses on imaging techniques in high-risk pregnancy, MRI of placental blood flow and its relationship to fetal abnormalities, and perinatal ethics. In 2005, he served as a graduate research fellow for the Indiana University Center for Bioethics. He is a member of the Section on Bioethics for the American Academy of Pediatrics, and is a director of the board for the Association of University Radiologists and the Society for Pediatric Radiology. At the IU School of Medicine, he serves as Vice-Chair for Faculty Affairs, Professional Development, and Vitality in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences.
He has delivered more than 100 invited lectures on the topics of medical and fetal ethics, medical professionalism, and imaging in fetal medicine. He has won each of the awards in his department for teaching medical students, technologists, nurses, and residents. He was the 2018 Berlin Scholar in Medical Professionalism, and the 2019 Exemplar of Professionalism Award for IU School of Medicine. In 2024, he was awarded the Career Achievement Award from the Indiana University Medicine Alumni Association.
Biography
Christopher Tollefsen is Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina. He has published over 100 articles in journals and edited collections, and a similar number of popular essays in venues such as Public Discourse, First Things, and National Review. He is the author of Lying and Christian Ethics and co-author of The Way of Medicine: Ethics and the Healing Profession (with Dr. Farr Curlin) and Embryo: A Defense of Human Life (with Robert P. George) as well as the editor of several collections, including John Paul II’s Contribution to Catholic Bioethics and Artificial Nutrition and Hydration: The New Catholic Debate. In 2019-20, he served as a Commissioner on the State Department’s Commission on Unalienable Rights. He has twice been a Visiting Fellow in the James Madison Program at Princeton University, as well as at the Eudaimonia Institute at Wake Forest. In 2024-25 he is a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame.
Panel Discussion of hard cases – medical and bioethical considerations
2:00 PM – 3:35 PM
Objectives
- Identify, evaluate and treat ethically challenging obstetric complications, such as previable preterm premature rupture of membranes.
Q&A Session for Panel Speakers
3:35 PM – 3:45 PM
Afternoon Break / Exhibitors
3:45 PM – 4:10 PM
Breakout Session 1
4:10 PM – 5:00 PM
Biography
Brandon P. Brown, MD, MA, FAAP
Dr. Brandon Brown is a pediatric radiologist, working at Riley Hospital for Children at Indiana University Health as the Chief of Fetal and Perinatal Imaging, and formerly as Director of Physician Vitality and Values for Indiana University Health. He completed his undergraduate degree in political philosophy at the University of Dallas in Texas and completed a joint degree program in medicine and philosophy at Indiana University.
His clinical work is at the intersection of several areas of medicine as one of the founders of The Fetal Center at Riley Children’s Health, and he is a member of the Departments of Radiology, Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Surgery, Philosophy and Medical Humanities. Dr. Brown’s research focuses on imaging techniques in high-risk pregnancy, MRI of placental blood flow and its relationship to fetal abnormalities, and perinatal ethics. In 2005, he served as a graduate research fellow for the Indiana University Center for Bioethics. He is a member of the Section on Bioethics for the American Academy of Pediatrics, and is a director of the board for the Association of University Radiologists and the Society for Pediatric Radiology. At the IU School of Medicine, he serves as Vice-Chair for Faculty Affairs, Professional Development, and Vitality in the Department of Radiology and Imaging Sciences.
He has delivered more than 100 invited lectures on the topics of medical and fetal ethics, medical professionalism, and imaging in fetal medicine. He has won each of the awards in his department for teaching medical students, technologists, nurses, and residents. He was the 2018 Berlin Scholar in Medical Professionalism, and the 2019 Exemplar of Professionalism Award for IU School of Medicine. In 2024, he was awarded the Career Achievement Award from the Indiana University Medicine Alumni Association.
Caring for the Least Among Us: Prenatal Diagnosis and Fetal Medicine
4:10 PM – 5:00 PM
Objectives
- Highlight fetal medicine and prenatal diagnosis as vital to comprehensive care for maternity and newborn health.
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Dr. Oliva is a board-certified plastic surgeon who specializes in microsurgery and has been in private practice in Spokane, WA for thirty years. He was the founding senior partner of a plastic surgery group dedicated to microvascular reconstruction to correct defects following trauma and cancer surgery.
Dr. Oliva is currently on the board of directors of Walk for Life Northwest. He has held leadership positions on the Catholic Medical Association and is now on the Executive Committee of the board and is the current national treasurer. He has advocated publicly on the dignity of every human person from conception to natural death and has lectured at the Vatican on transgender medicine in 2022 and 2024
He has been married to Charlotte for 42 years. They have 4 married daughters and 14 grandchildren.
The Surgical Treatment of Gender Dysphoria and its Complications
4:10 PM – 5:00 PM
Objectives
- Describe the anatomic basis of the surgical procedures used in transgender surgery.
- Discuss the complication rates associated with male-to-female vaginoplasty and female-to-male phalloplasty.
- Identify the surgical challenges inherent to surgical transitioning in adolescents.
- Reveal the number and types of surgical procedures performed on minors in the US.
- Understand the psychological impact of these surgical procedures.
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Helen is the CEO of Women’s Accessible Medical Services, P.S. Helen received a Master’s degree in Social Work (with a focus on Administration and Public Policy) from the University of Washington, where she also earned a BA in Women’s Studies. She co-founded 3W with a fellow college friend in 2012 and has since served as 3W Advisory Board Member (2012-present), Advancement Director (2015-17), Executive Director (2017-20), and now CEO (2020-present).
Biography
Dr. Susan Rutherford has practiced as a board certified ObGyn and Maternal-Fetal Medicine specialist.
She earned her M.D. at the University of Washington, completed her ObGyn residency at the Naval Hospital, San Diego and fellowship in MFM at LA County Hospital, University of Southern California. After 12 years in the U.S. Navy Medical Corps she was discharged having achieved the rank of Commander. In 1990 she founded and was Medical Director of the Maternal-Fetal Medicine Program at Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, WA, growing a practice with associates that covered two hospitals with a combined over 7,000 deliveries per year. Later she became Evergreen’s Medical Director of Women’s and Children’s Services. During this career she served on the Board and as President of the Washington State Obstetrical Association.
Dr. Rutherford has fully retired from the paycheck and helped to open a novel life-affirming women’s reproductive health clinic in the University district of Seattle in 2017 where she serves on the Board and as Medical Director, with limited patient care plus teaching. 3W Medical for Women is AAAHC accredited and the only life-affirming clinic in Seattle that provides free pregnancy diagnosis. It is distinguished by also providing reproductive health screenings and limited problem-focused GYN services.
In 2023, 3W was voted the BEST WOMEN’S CLINIC IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST through the Seattle Times competition. Dr. Rutherford hopes this clinic’s story will encourage others to do similarly even in very hostile climates.
Reclaiming Reproductive Healthcare – A Life Affirming Approach
4:10 PM – 5:00 PM
Objectives
- Identify benefits of ambulatory healthcare accreditation
- Describe sexual health medical services appropriate for a life-affirming clinic
- Discuss organizational components to promote and protect the mission
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Donna Harrison Keynote Talk
5:15 PM – 6:30 PM
Biography
Farr Curlin, MD, is Josiah Trent Professor of Medical Humanities in the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, & History of Medicine and Co-Director of the Theology, Medicine and Culture Initiative (TMC) at Duke University. Dr. Curlin has worked to bring attention to the intersection of medicine, ethics, and theology. In 2012 he helped to found both the University of Chicago’s Program on Medicine and Religion and the annual Conference on Medicine and Religion. Since 2015, through Duke Divinity School’s TMC Initiative, he and colleagues have brought graduate theological training to those with vocations to health care. Starting in 2023, Dr. Curlin also is working with colleagues across North America to develop the Hippocratic Society, an association whose mission is forming clinicians in the practice and pursuit of good medicine. He is co-author, with Chris Tollefsen, of The Way of Medicine: Ethics and the Healing Profession (Notre Dame University Press, 2021), as well as more than 150 articles and book chapters addressing the moral and spiritual dimensions of medical practice.
Biography
Christopher Tollefsen is Professor of Philosophy at the University of South Carolina. He has published over 100 articles in journals and edited collections, and a similar number of popular essays in venues such as Public Discourse, First Things, and National Review. He is the author of Lying and Christian Ethics and co-author of The Way of Medicine: Ethics and the Healing Profession (with Dr. Farr Curlin) and Embryo: A Defense of Human Life (with Robert P. George) as well as the editor of several collections, including John Paul II’s Contribution to Catholic Bioethics and Artificial Nutrition and Hydration: The New Catholic Debate. In 2019-20, he served as a Commissioner on the State Department’s Commission on Unalienable Rights. He has twice been a Visiting Fellow in the James Madison Program at Princeton University, as well as at the Eudaimonia Institute at Wake Forest. In 2024-25 he is a Visiting Fellow at the Center for Ethics and Culture at the University of Notre Dame.
The Way of Medicine in Obstetrics and Gynecology
5:15 PM – 6:30 PM
Objectives
- Explain to someone else what they take to be the purpose of medicine and the difference that makes for the ethics of obstetrics and gynecology
- Describe two rival accounts of what medicine is for, and analyze ethical questions that arise in obstetrics and gynecology through the ethical frameworks generated by these two accounts
- Give an account of how moral regard for the fetus fits a medical practitioner’s professional obligations
- Identify at least one step they can take to contend courageously for good medicine with respect to sexuality and reproduction
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Dinner on Your Own
Exhibitor Booths Open
8:00 AM – 8:30 AM
Biography
Farr Curlin, MD, is Josiah Trent Professor of Medical Humanities in the Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, & History of Medicine and Co-Director of the Theology, Medicine and Culture Initiative (TMC) at Duke University. Dr. Curlin has worked to bring attention to the intersection of medicine, ethics, and theology. In 2012 he helped to found both the University of Chicago’s Program on Medicine and Religion and the annual Conference on Medicine and Religion. Since 2015, through Duke Divinity School’s TMC Initiative, he and colleagues have brought graduate theological training to those with vocations to health care. Starting in 2023, Dr. Curlin also is working with colleagues across North America to develop the Hippocratic Society, an association whose mission is forming clinicians in the practice and pursuit of good medicine. He is co-author, with Chris Tollefsen, of The Way of Medicine: Ethics and the Healing Profession (Notre Dame University Press, 2021), as well as more than 150 articles and book chapters addressing the moral and spiritual dimensions of medical practice.
Helping patients who are dying or helping patients to die? The Way of Medicine at the end of life
8:45 AM – 9:30 AM
Objectives
- Describe how medicine for patients who are dying, including palliative medicine, can aim at the patient’s health
- Distinguish between palliative medicine aimed at health and palliative care aimed at maximizing quality of life according the patient’s wishes
- Describe the limits of medicine with respect to the care of patients who are dying
- Give an account of whether “medical aid in dying” is consistent with or contradicts the ethics of medicine
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Mary Anne Mosack is the President/CEO of Ascend, a national, non-profit organization empowering youth to make healthy choices about sex, relationships, and marriage through Sexual Risk Avoidance (SRA) education. She is a developer of Ascend’s nationally recognized Sexual Risk Avoidance Certification Course and has been involved in certifying over 3,000 SRA educators both nationally and internationally. She is the developer of Making Your Message Matter, a dynamic seminar on effectively communicating the value of SRA education as a common sense, primary prevention approach that empowers adolescents to thrive. She is also co-author of The War on Intimacy, which demonstrates how explicit sex education negatively impacts the ability to develop healthy relationships.
Mary Anne has been interviewed by major media outlets regarding SRA education and has delivered numerous presentations regarding the public health basis for SRA education including conferences at the Federal Department of Health and Human Services, state and local school boards, state legislation committee hearings, parent organizations and university symposiums. She has served as an SRA content specialist and evaluation consultant for the Administration of Children and Families (ACF). She actively works to engage stakeholders in building strategic networks to establish SRA education as the dominant sex education approach at the local level.
She is a relentless opponent of the current aggressive attempts to sexualize children and adolescents and works to ensure that ALL teens are given the opportunity to reach optimal health and life success.
Sleeping With Our Boots On: Strategies for Advancing Sexual Risk Avoidance Education
9:35 AM – 10:20 AM
Objectives
- Recognize need for urgency and resolve in protecting children and teens from the destructive agendas thwarting their healthy growth and development
- Evaluate strategies for creating a winning offense in pushing back and advancing against the destructive messaging and manipulation of vulnerable youth
- Assess their individual and collective role in engaging the culture from a position strength
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Q&A Session with Dr. Curlin and Ms. Mosack
10:20 AM – 10:30 AM
Break / Exhibitors
10:30 AM – 11:00 AM
Breakout Session 2
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Biography
Dr. Naomi Whittaker is the founder of RRMAcademy.org and is an OBGYN fertility surgeon focused on women’s restorative reproductive medicine, compassionate healthcare, and education.
Dr. Whittaker is a board certified OBGYN and a fellowship trained surgeon who specializes in the Creighton Model FertilityCare System and NaProTechnology, which works cooperatively with a woman’s body to treat the underlying cause of gynecologic issues and infertility, such as endometriosis and PCOS.
Dr. Whittaker helps women improve their gynecologic health, and avoid/achieve pregnancy in accordance with their natural fertility using the latest research, medicine, and surgery.
Dr. Whittaker earned her medical degree at Creighton University School of Medicine and completed her residency in OB/GYN at OSF Hospital in Peoria, IL. She then completed the Saint John Paul II Fellowship in Medical and Surgical NaProTECHNOLOGY at the Pope Paul VI Institute in Omaha, Nebraska. She also received the Focused Practice Designation in Minimally Invasive Gynecologic Surgery by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology. Dr. Whittaker is currently practising in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
You can find her on Instagram as Napro_Fertility_Surgeon.
Endometriosis diagnosis and treatment
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Objectives
- Describe prevalence, risk factors, symptoms (including charting biomarkers) of endometriosis
- Identify surgical candidates
- Explain how to identify endometriosis and tools used to do so
- Explain adhesion prevention techniques and the debate in this field
- Explain adjunct treatment therapies to manage endometriosis
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Dr. Jane Anderson was graduated from the University of California, Los Angeles School of Medicine and obtained her pediatric internship at the University of Southern California. Her pediatric residency was at Stanford University, and she practiced for 33 years at the University of California, San Francisco as a Clinical Professor of Pediatrics until her retirement in November, 2012. She continued there as a volunteer clinical faculty until June 2021. Dr. Anderson has authored numerous articles on general pediatric topics, has presented lectures on adolescent brain development and parenting in both the U.S. and China, and has received teaching awards from medical students and pediatric residents, including the Faculty Teaching Award from the UCSF Department of pediatrics in 2000, the Excellence in Teaching Award from the UCSF Medical School class of 2011, and the Volunteer Faculty Teaching Award from the UCSF Pediatric residents in 2014. She has also authored several position papers for the American College of Pediatricians, of which she has been a long-time member and currently serves as the Vice President.
Mental health in children and adolescents with gender incongruence
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Objectives
- Identify preceding mental health concerns often seen in children with gender dysphoria
- Describe impact of social affirmation, puberty blockers, and cross sex hormones on the mental health of adolescents with gender dysphoria
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Dr. Michaelene Fredenburg is the founder, President and CEO of the Institute of Reproductive Grief Care. She is an author, speaker, and is widely acknowledged as the global authority on reproductive grief care. Michaelene was recently appointed a fellow with the Global Newborn Society after contributing chapters to the Society’s textbook Principals in Neonatology. Michaelene spearheaded the creation of the Institute’s curricula that is accredited by American Nursing Credentialing Center and approved by the National Association of Social Workers to sponsor continuing education. Under her leadership, the Institute is firmly established at the forefront of creating impartial and impactful research having published in peer-reviewed journals including Cureus, Frontiers in Pediatrics, Frontiers in Psychology, Newborn, and PEC Innovation. In 2021 she received her honorary Doctor of Humane Letters, from Divine Mercy University in recognition of her lifetime of scholarship, research, and visionary leadership.
Tasked for Compassion: Reproductive Grief Care in the Emergency Department
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Objectives
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Richard J. Fehring, PhD, RN, FAAN, – is a Professor Emeritus at Marquette University College of Nursing, a research scientist at the Institute for Natural Family Planning, developer of the Marquette Method of NFP, a fellow in the American Academy of Nursing, and a former Captain in the US Army Nurse Corp. He received his master’s and doctorate in nursing from The Catholic University of America and baccalaureate degrees in biology and nursing from Marquette University. He has published over 200 articles and book chapters, and co-edited three books on Human Fertility. Professor Fehring is a science consultant to the Department of NFP USCCB, a Board member of University Faculty for Life, and member of the Healthcare and Bioethics Committee for the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. His research interests include effectiveness of natural family planning methods, marital responses to family planning, and religious and spiritual influences on human sexuality. He is listed as one of the top 2% of worldwide scientists for citations. His most recent book is “Learning to Live with Your Fertility: The Marquette Model of NFP” Summer, 2023.
The Menstrual Cycle as a Vital Sign for Women’s Health
11:00 AM – 11:45 AM
Objectives
- Describe the normal parameters of the menstrual cycle
- Discuss use of quantitative hormonal monitoring to track fertility for women’s health
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Lunch / Exhibitors
12:00 PM – 1:30 PM
Breakout Session 3
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM
Biography
Dr. Marguerite Duane, a board-certified family physician, is co-founder and Executive Director of FACTS about Fertility, an organization dedicated to educating medical professionals and students about the scientific evidence supporting fertility awareness-based methods (FABMs). She also serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Georgetown, Duquesne University and the University of Utah. Dr. Duane cares for patients via a direct primary care house-calls based practice, MD for Life, and previously worked as medical director of the Catholic Charities community health centers in DC and Maryland. Dr. Duane currently serves as the CMA State Director for DC. She has served on the board of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the Family Medicine Education Consortium (FMEC).
Dr. Duane trained as a Creighton, FEMM and NeoFertility Medical consultant, and a TeenSTAR educator. She received her M.D. degree from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and completed her Family Medicine residency at Lancaster General Hospital in Pennsylvania. She received a Bachelor of Science with Honors and a Master of Health Administration degree from Cornell University. In 2022, Dr. Duane completed a primary care research fellowship at the University of Utah earning a Master of Science in Public Health. Dr. Duane is married to fellow family physician, Dr. Kenneth Lin, and they are delighted to be the parents of 4 children
Miscarriage: Identifying and Addressing Modifiable Risk Factors
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM
Objectives
- State the incidence of miscarriage and define the different classifications
- Describe underlying causes of miscarriage and modifiable risk factors.
- Identify the salient history and diagnostic work-up for miscarriage
- Review aspects of relevant fertility charting in miscarriage cases
- Discuss a restorative reproductive medicine approach to the evaluation and treatment of early pregnancy loss, including lifestyle modification, charting the female menstrual cycle, and medical interventions.
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Dr. Robin Pierucci is a wife, mother, and neonatologist. She has a Master’s degree in bioethics, has completed the National Catholic Bioethics Center certificate program. This background dovetails with her research, publications, and ongoing involvement in championing provision of care for babies at the edge of viability, for infants and their families affected by in utero drug exposure, and her latest endeavor, the creation of a clinic devoted to care of families and their babies who have a fetal anomaly. She has multiple publications in peer and non-peer reviewed journals and has spoken around the country on multiple perinatal and ethical topics. Dr. Pierucci, a Jewish convert to Catholicism, has appeared on a number of programs aired on EWTN including, Women of Grace, The Journey Home, EWTN Live, and Pro-Life Weekly. She has become increasingly active testifying about the reality of fetal pain and the edge of viability, including testifying on Capitol Hill for the Born Alive Protection Act. Dr. Pierucci is a member of the Catholic Medical Association, an associate scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute and a board member of the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) where she is also the co-chair of their pro-life council.
Fighting for a Trial of Life
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM
Objectives
- Increase awareness of the trauma associated with giving a family any prenatal diagnosis
- Discuss way to avoid participating in a self-fulling prophecy of death
- Identify ways to provide these neonates a trial of life
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Teresa Lanza di Scalea, M.D., Ph.D., is a diplomate of the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She is board-certified in psychiatry, specializing in the care of women across the adult lifespan experiencing psychiatric disorders and emotional challenges, with a special focus on the menstrual cycle, infertility, pre-pregnancy planning, all stages of motherhood, the menopausal transition, gynecological and breast cancer across all phases of care.
Dr. Lanza di Scalea is an affiliate faculty member of the University of Texas at Austin Dell Medical School, in the Departments of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences and Women’s Health.
Lanza di Scalea received her M.D. degree summa cum laude from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore of Rome, Italy, in 2002 and completed adult psychiatry residency at the Università Tor Vergata of Rome, Italy in 2006. As a fourth-year psychiatry resident at the Università Tor Vergata, she was awarded a yearlong visiting research scholarship at the Women’s Behavioral HealthCARE Program of the University of Pittsburgh. In 2009, she earned her PhD in Neuroscience from the Università Tor Vergata of Rome, Italy, focusing on the role of psychosocial factors and metabolic profile in clinical depression during the menopausal transition.
She subsequently completed a second residency in adult psychiatry in the U.S., graduating from Brown University in 2015. During her service at Brown, she took part in the launching of the Menopause Consultation Clinic of the Women’s Medicine Collaborative — the first of its kind in the state of Rhode Island — and served as staff psychiatrist in the Breast Cancer Center of the Lifespan Cancer Institute.
In 2017 she joined Dell Med’s departments of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and Women’s Health as faculty. She served as a collaborative care model consulting psychiatrist in the Women’s Health Integrated Practice Unit and as staff psychiatrist in the Women’s Reproductive Mental Health of Texas. In 2019 and 2021 she led the development and initiation of a maternal mental health training curricula for women’s health specialists as part of the Maternal Levels of Care Level IV requirement for Ascension Seton Medical Center Austin.
Since 2022 Dr. Lanza di Scalea has been serving patients in the private sector and has been the owner and founder of Women’s Psychiatry and Well-Being PLLC, a women’s mental health private practice in Texas.
Infertility and Mental Health
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM
Objectives
- Describe the relation between infertility and psychiatric/psychological comorbidity
- Articulate the concern relative to the paucity of evidence on the effect of fertility treatments on mental health
- Discuss the evidence on effective psychiatric and psychotherapeutic treatments assisting this population
- List areas of need of further investigation in the area of infertility and mental health
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Born: Lynwood, California 1952
Pius X High School: Downey, California. 1966-70
ASB president 1969-70
All Angeles League Cross Country and Track, 1969-70
Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA 1970-74
UCSF School of Medicine 1975-79
Married 1982, 3 children, ages 39, 37, 35.
RESIDENCES:
Charleston SC 1979-82
Houston TX 1982-85
Santa Rosa, CA 1985-86
Walla Walla, WA, 1986-2001
Coeur d’ Alene, ID 2001-2010
Kennewick, WA, 2010-2014
Reno, NV 2014-2017
Middleton, ID 2017- present
Hobbies: Fishing, hunting, camping, bicycling, horseback riding, writing
Affiliations: Insiders Circle, Discovery institute, Seattle, WA
New developments in the molecular biology of breast cancer oncogenesis and its relationship to pregnancy and abortion
1:30 PM – 2:15 PM
Objectives
- Describe the physiologic and genetic changes in breast tissue that occur as a result of pregnancy.
- Describe the cellular and molecular mechanisms that reduce oncogenic risk in breast tissue following full-term pregnancy
- Understand the changing paradigm in chromosomal oncogenesis and how it pertains to breast cancer
- Describe how this new paradigm provides a compelling argument for a causative role of abortion on breast cancer risk
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Plenary Sessions
2:30 PM – 4:55 PM
Biography
Michelle A. Cretella, MD is a pediatrician, writer, researcher and speaker. She is the past executive director of the American College of Pediatricians and is Co-Chair of its Adolescent Sexuality Committee. She is also a pediatrician spokesperson for the Catholic Medical Association and Advocates Protecting Children; she is a long-standing member of the Association for American Physicians and Surgeons, as well as a consultant to the Rhode Island Family Institute.
Dr. Cretella served on the Board of Directors of the American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) for 13 years beginning in 2005 prior to being hired as the ACPeds’ first Executive Director, a position she held from 2018 -2021. Dr. Cretella served as Vice President of the ACPeds from 2010 – 2014 and as President from 2014 – 2018. Prior to holding executive offices, she chaired the ACPeds Pediatric Psychosocial Committee, Adolescent Sexuality Committee and Scientific Policy Committee as a board member. In these roles she became one of the ACPeds chief researchers, writers and spokespersons on a host of pediatric issues, especially transgender belief in youth. Her article Gender Dysphoria in Children and Suppression of Debate was published in the 2016 summer issue of the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons. Following an interview with Tucker Carlson, she became recognized as a leading physician critic of gender ideology in pediatrics. She contributed to the development of model legislation at the state and federal levels in three areas. These legislative successes include bills passed to 1) protect youth from sterilizing and otherwise harmful transgender interventions, 2) maintain fairness and safety in female sports, and 3) maintain accurate sex markers on legal documents. She has contributed to several amicus briefs for various pro-family and pro-life court cases at the state, federal and international levels. She has been consulted by Breitbart News, FRC, One News Now, Relevant Radio, FOX News and many others.
Dr. Cretella is a peer reviewer for three professional journals: the Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Issues in Law and Medicine, and the International Journal of Behavioural and Healthcare Research.
Dr. Cretella also serves on the Advisory Board for the Alliance for Therapeutic Choice and Scientific Integrity. And is a member of the international John Paul II Academy for Human Life and the Family.
Dr. Cretella received her medical degree in 1994 from the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. She completed her internship and residency in pediatrics in 1997 at the Connecticut Children’s Medical Center in Hartford, Connecticut. She completed a fellowship in College Health through the University of Virginia in 1999. Dr. Cretella practiced pediatrics with a special interest in behavioral health from 1999-2012. She left clinical pediatric practice in 2012 to devote more time to her family and pro-life child advocacy. Dr. Cretella and her husband are the proud parents of four grown children.
Links to some of Dr. Cretella’s online videos:
- Tucker Carlson (FOX News) 7/24/17 – “Pediatricians versus Transgender Politics”
- The Daily Signal (2017) – “Watch the Uncensored Video on Gender Dysphoria from a Pediatrician”
- Heritage Foundation Panel (2017) – Pediatrician drops a bomb on idea that transgenderism is real — completely destroys it with truth – TheBlaze
- Two illustrative videos produced by Dr. Cretella, ACPeds and Family Watch International (2021)
Pediatric Gender Dysphoria & the Evidence Base for Psychotherapy
2:30 PM – 3:15 PM
Objectives
- Discuss normal gender identity development in children and adolescents as described by Lawrence Kohlberg and Erik Ericson.
- Define terms including normal, therapeutic, healthcare, adolescence, gender identity, gender dysphoria/gender incongruence, transgender.
- Refute the claim that gender incongruence is hardwired by genes and/or an opposite-sexed brain.
- Address the claim that youth will commit suicide without social and medical affirmation of incongruent identities.
- Discuss the bio-psycho-social model for gender incongruence in youth.
- Identify predisposing factors for developing gender incongruence in childhood and adolescence.
- Describe how and why psychotherapy is a reasonable and ethical response to child and adolescence gender incongruence.
- Cite resources for clinicians, patients and families dealing with gender incongruence.
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Luc Joyeux is a General Pediatric Surgeon and a Fetal Surgeon working since January 2022 in the division of Pediatric Surgery and the Texas Children’s Fetal Center at the Texas Children’s Hospital affiliated to Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, USA. He worked part-time until 2021 as a Fetal Surgeon in the Fetal Medicine Unit of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology of the University Hospitals Leuven in Leuven, Belgium. With their fetal team, he implemented a clinical program for fetoscopic surgery for spina bifida based on the center’s experience with the open approach. He is now applying his surgical and fetal skills at the Texas Children’s Fetal Center.
A translational research scientist at Baylor College of Medicine, he is also an adjunct professor at KU Leuven in Belgium. He is conducting animal experiments on innovative fetal research projects at the MyFetUZ Fetal Research Center led by Pr. Jan Deprest. His numerous research topics are animal disease models for severe fetal anomalies such as spina bifida, congenital diaphragmatic hernia, gastroschisis, vein of Gallen and sacrococcygeal teratoma; fetoscopic surgery for gastroschisis; surgical training, learning curve and competency analyses in fetal and pediatric surgeries; and cost-effectiveness in surgery. Finally, he is developing biomedical devices to completely close any trocar sites in fetal, pediatric and adult laparoscopic surgeries and to stabilize the fetus during any complex fetal procedures. Back in 2008, he joined for one year the center for fetal research at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia as a research fellow. His research project was on lung fetal gene therapy with Pr. Alan Flake and Dr. Marcus Davey. A native of France, Dr. Luc Joyeux obtained his medical degree from the university of Burgundy in Dijon, France in 2011. He became Board Certified in general surgery and general pediatric surgery in France respectively in 2011 and 2012, and later in general surgery in Belgium in 2015. He received his American medical degree in 2006 from the United States ECFMG, his master’s degree in surgical science in 2009 from the University of Paris XI-XII in France, and his PhD in Biomedical Sciences in 2020 from KU Leuven in Belgium.
Dr. Luc Joyeux is very happily married (his family name Joyeux meaning happy) to his beloved wife Marguerite, and the couple is blessed with five children, Celestin, Joseph, Azelie, Myriam and Marthe.
Fetal surgery for complex gastroschisis: the next frontier
3:20 PM – 4:05 PM
Objectives
- To define the main cause of complex gastroschisis (GS)
- To stratify patients with complex GS prenatally
- To describe the most important outcomes of postnatal management
- To summarize our safety and efficacy study in the fetal lamb mode
- To list the main inclusion criteria for our phase 1 study at our fetal center
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Dr. Stephen Sammut received a B.Pharm from Monash University in Victoria, Australia and a Ph.D. in neuroscience from the University of Malta in Malta, Europe. His research interests lie in the utilization of behavioral models and combined experimental techniques to investigate the interaction between the endocrine, immune and nervous systems and their role in CNS development, functioning and psychopathology. His scientific career experience has been broad and has included experience in a number of animal models of psychiatric disorders including depression, schizophrenia, Parkinson’s disease and psychostimulant-induced drug sensitization. Moreover, he has utilized various in vivo and in vitro techniques including electrophysiology, electrochemistry, reverse-microdialysis, individually or in combination with each other, in order to investigate questions related to behavior, cellular activity, neurotransmitter release, and how these are altered in psychiatric diseases in brain regions of interest. He has authored and co-authored several papers in leading scientific journals related to the research he has conducted, including his groundbreaking study describing an animal model which addresses the behavioral and physiological impact of drug-induced abortion. He has also presented his work at various conferences and institutions nationally and internationally. His scientific career has also given him the unique experience of having a leading role in the original setting up and management of laboratories. Dr. Sammut is currently a Full Professor of Psychology at Franciscan University of Steubenville, OH, where he teaches and is also actively involved in research. His research efforts currently are focused on three primary areas: 1) research geared at investigating the neurological, biological and behavioral consequences of drug-induced abortion in an animal model, 2) research addressing the abortion-pill-reversal at the pre-clinical level, and 3) research addressing the development of an animal model for embryo transfer in ectopic pregnancy. Additionally, and in line with his research interest in psychopathology, Dr. Sammut also conducts research addressing mental health and related behaviors in the university student population.
Biography
Dr. Buskmiller graduated from Thomas Aquinas College and received her medical degree from Texas A&M University. She completed a residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Saint Louis University and her maternal fetal medicine fellowship at UT Houston. She obtained a masters in bioethics from the University of Mary. She completed additional training in fetal surgery and is the primary fetal interventionist at the Texas Children’s Hospital location in Austin, Texas. She is the founder of Conscience in Residency and has collaborated with the American Association for Pro-Life OB/GYNs, the National Catholic Bioethics Center, and Students for Life International. Her research focuses on fetal surgical device design and pregnancy loss. She holds 2 patents and has published 35 peer-reviewed journal articles, 43 conference presentations, and 2 book chapters.
Relocation of a Pregnant Uterine Horn Segment into the Contralateral Horn: An Exploratory Study in a Rat Model with Implications for Tubal Ectopic Pregnancy
4:10 PM – 4:55 PM
Objectives
- Describe the role of pre-clinical animals in the ethical investigation of surgical techniques that may be utilized in human conditions (such as tubal ectopic pregnancy in this case)
- Articulate the concerns associated with the current treatments for ectopic pregnancy
- Discuss a potential surgical procedure for use in tubal ectopic pregnancy.
- Discuss ectopic pregnancy and current available treatment options
- Describe the challenges needed to overcome embryo death at the close of treatment of ectopic pregnancy
- Review the surgical aspects of the model of pregnancy transfer in the Long-Evans rat
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Q&A Session with Drs. Cretella, Joyeux, Sammut, Buskmiller
4:55 PM – 5:10 PM
Cocktail Reception (cash bar)
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM
Dinner and Keynote Speaker
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Biography
Miriam Grossman MD is board certified in child, adolescent and adult psychiatry. Before gender ideology was on anyone’s radar, she warned parents about its dangers in her 2009 book, You’re Teaching My Child WHAT?
Dr. Grossman is a leading voice exposing the capture of her profession by gender zealots, leading to dangerous medical interventions on minors and betrayal of parents. Her work culminated in a blockbuster book, Lost in Trans Nation: A Child Psychiatrist’s Guide Out of the Madness.
Dr. Grossman was featured in the Daily Wire’s What Is A Woman? The author of five books, she has testified in Congress, the United Nations, Britain’s House of Lords, and many state legislatures. Her work has been translated into twelve languages.
Lost in Trans Nation: A Child Psychiatrist’s Guide Out of the Madness
7:30 PM – 8:30 PM
Objectives
- Understand the evolution of the diagnosis of gender dysphoria
- Understand rapid-onset gender dysphoria
- Learn about the risks of social transition
- Learn about the risks of medical interventions
- Describe the importance of the Cass Review
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Religious Services
7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
Exhibitors
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM
Biography
Dr. Christina Cirucci is a board-certified OB/GYN and has worked for twenty years in private practice in Pittsburgh, PA. Dr. Cirucci earned her MD from Jefferson Medical College in Philadelphia and completed her OB/GYN residency at the Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. She later earned a Certificate in Biblical Studies from Columbia International University. Dr. Cirucci is Chair of the Board of Directors of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists. She is also an Associate Scholar with the Charlotte Lozier Institute, a Fellow with Reasons to Believe, and a Colson Center Fellow. She is a member of the Christian Medical and Dental Associations and the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. Dr. Cirucci has published multiple peer-reviewed articles on chemical abortion. In addition to her heart for the pre-born, she has a burden for medical missions and has volunteered her medical skills in various third-world countries. She has a particular heart for Bangladesh, where she has served six times.
Gender Transition and Abortion: Two Sides of the Same Coin
9:00 AM – 9:45 AM
Objectives
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Understand the basics of chemical abortion, including the risks to women, particularly with self-managed abortion
- Understand what is meant by “gender affirming care.”
- Distinguish between informed consent and the informed consent model of care that is utilized in gender-affirming care.
- Appreciate some of the ethical issues with both self-managed abortion and gender-affirming care.
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Dr. Susan Bane (aka DrPinkGlasses) is a 1987 graduate of Atlantic Christian College, now Barton College. She has practiced obstetrics and gynecology for 25 years, including in private practice at Greenville Obstetrics and Gynecology and serving as a clinical professor at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. She is the founder and CEO of PinkGlasses Consulting, providing health care consulting with a life-affirming vision and is currently the Regional Medical Director for four pregnancy centers in North Carolina, where she oversees the medical aspects of the Centers and sees patients with unintended pregnancies.
Dr. Bane completed a PhD in Kinesiology and her medical degree from the University of Illinois. She holds coaching certifications for health and wellness and emotional intelligence coaching. She completed the year-long certificate program in Theology and Health Care at Duke Divinity School in 2022.
Dr. Bane serves on the Medical Board for Care Net and Board of Directors for The American Association of Prolife Obstetricians and Gynecologists, AAPLOG, serving as the vice-chair and advocacy team leader, as well as the chair of Board of Directors for AAPLOG Action. She is a highly sought after speaker and has spoken about women’s health and life issues in many settings. Her writing has been published in national press, including Politico, The Daily Signal, the Federalist, RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Newsweek. She serves as a co-host of AAPLOG’s podcast Caring for Both: A Curbside consult.
Dr. Bane is involved in a variety of community activities, including St. Therese Catholic Church, and participates in autism advocacy work, as her youngest son, Maxwell, has autism. She has been married for 37 years to her husband, Art, and has three children: Archer, married to Virginia, and they have two daughters, Townshend and Berrigan, Riley, married to Titus, and they have one child (Huff) and Maxwell, who won’t be getting married, but will be keeping Dr. Bane and her husband company for years to come. She considers her family her greatest accomplishment.
Exploring DEI Initiatives in Health Care: Challenges and Opportunities
9:50 AM – 10:35 AM
Objectives
- Define key concepts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Identify DEI initiatives commonly found in health care.
- Design strategies to create a thriving, inclusive workplace in health care.
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Biography
Dr. Susan Bane (aka DrPinkGlasses) is a 1987 graduate of Atlantic Christian College, now Barton College. She has practiced obstetrics and gynecology for 25 years, including in private practice at Greenville Obstetrics and Gynecology and serving as a clinical professor at the Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University. She is the founder and CEO of PinkGlasses Consulting, providing health care consulting with a life-affirming vision and is currently the Regional Medical Director for four pregnancy centers in North Carolina, where she oversees the medical aspects of the Centers and sees patients with unintended pregnancies.
Dr. Bane completed a PhD in Kinesiology and her medical degree from the University of Illinois. She holds coaching certifications for health and wellness and emotional intelligence coaching. She completed the year-long certificate program in Theology and Health Care at Duke Divinity School in 2022.
Dr. Bane serves on the Medical Board for Care Net and Board of Directors for The American Association of Prolife Obstetricians and Gynecologists, AAPLOG, serving as the vice-chair and advocacy team leader, as well as the chair of Board of Directors for AAPLOG Action. She is a highly sought after speaker and has spoken about women’s health and life issues in many settings. Her writing has been published in national press, including Politico, The Daily Signal, the Federalist, RealClearPolitics, RealClearHealth, and Newsweek. She serves as a co-host of AAPLOG’s podcast Caring for Both: A Curbside consult.
Dr. Bane is involved in a variety of community activities, including St. Therese Catholic Church, and participates in autism advocacy work, as her youngest son, Maxwell, has autism. She has been married for 37 years to her husband, Art, and has three children: Archer, married to Virginia, and they have two daughters, Townshend and Berrigan, Riley, married to Titus, and they have one child (Huff) and Maxwell, who won’t be getting married, but will be keeping Dr. Bane and her husband company for years to come. She considers her family her greatest accomplishment.
Exploring DEI Initiatives in Health Care: Challenges and Opportunities
9:50 AM – 10:35 AM
Objectives
- Define key concepts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
- Identify DEI initiatives commonly found in health care.
- Design strategies to create a thriving, inclusive workplace in health care.
References
- Priscilla K. Coleman, “Abortion and Mental Health: Quantitative Synthesis and Analysis of Research Published 1995–2009,” British Journal of Psychiatry 199, no. 3 (August 2011 2011), http://bjp.rcpsych.org/content/199/3/180.long.
- J. M. Thorp, Jr., K. E. Hartmann, and E. Shadigian, “Long-Term Physical and Psychological Health Consequences of Induced Abortion: Review of the Evidence,” Obstet Gynecol Surv 58, no. 1 (Jan 2003), http://dx.doi.org/10.1097/01.OGX.0000045217.37578.0B.
- D. M. Fergusson, L. J. Horwood, and J. M. Boden, “Does Abortion Reduce the Mental Health Risks of Unwanted or Unintended Pregnancy? A Re-Appraisal of the Evidence,” Aust N Z J Psychiatry 47, no. 9 (Sep 2013), http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0004867413484597.
- H. P. David, N. K. Rasmussen, and E. Holst, “Postpartum and Postabortion Psychotic Reactions,” Fam Plann Perspect 13, no. 2 (Mar-Apr 1981), https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7250345.
Abstract
An unbiased appraisal of the research literature shows that a significant number of women do suffer negative psychological consequences of abortion. These risks should be included in the information disclosed by the physician during the consent process. Furthermore, these potential risks are among the reasons that the informed consent process for abortion should be consistent and comprehensive―and should allow time for the patient to consider her options carefully. As the U.S. Supreme Court acknowledged in Gonzales v. Carhart, “It seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained. Severe depression and loss of esteem can follow” (IV.A). As we will see, evidence from clinical and social science research supports this conclusion. Some women who obtain abortions subsequently suffer psychologically complex and distressing consequences, and in many of these cases, psychological harms are pronounced and measurable. Identifiable medical, psychological, and social factors in the patient’s history can also help predict which patients may be at elevated risk.
Q&A Session with Dr. Cirucci & Dr. Bane
10:40 AM – 10:50 AM
– Conference Ends –
11:00 AM
**No CME credit available for this presentation
What have others said about our conference?
The annual joint AAPLOG-ACPeds conference will be held Feb. 28-March 2, 2025 in Orlando, FL. Pro-life medical professionals of all specialties, students/residents, PRCs and other organizations, and others are welcome to attend. The opening session begins at 8:30AM on Friday, Feb. 28.
See the Schedule tab on conference site for the list of speakers and topics Please note that there will be several free pre-conference activities open to all registered guests on Thursday, Feb. 27, including an evening welcome social. Details available soon.
All sessions will be held at The Renaissance Orlando SeaWorld. Please refer to the Venue section for further information. You will be able to reserve your discount hotel rooms during the registration process. Please book by Jan. 26.
Your conference registration fee includes the following meals and breaks: Friday lunch and afternoon snack; Saturday morning snack, lunch, cocktail reception, and dinner. There will be coffee and water available throughout Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday morning.
Medical students and residents are invited to attend. We have a DeCook scholarship program that covers most of the conference and travel costs for students who apply and are accepted. There is also a special registration rate for students/residents.
The Renaissance SeaWorld is 12 miles from the Orlando airport (MCO). There is not a hotel airport shuttle, however Uber, Lyft and taxis are readily available.
The conference is closed to the media.
If you need to cancel your registration, please email tireland@helmsbriscoe.com.
In the event of our cancellation of the conference, we will refund the cost to you. If you decide to completely cancel your registration, we will refund your conference fee if you notify us by Feb. 3, 2025.
If you completely cancel your registration after Feb. 3, 2025 to Feb. 18, 2025, we will issue a refund for half of the in-person conference fee.
If you completely cancel your registration after Feb. 18, 2025, then we cannot refund your conference fee because we will have incurred costs related to the conference.
Registrants check in will begin Fri, Feb. 10 at 9am through 5pm.
May check in on Feb. 10 morning. Exhibit booths will open at 1pm on Feb. 10, and be open during breaks, lunch, and conference sessions, except the evening sessions.
See the tab on the conference site for more info. If you are an AAPLOG member and already registered for the conference, we can register you to receive CME for free. Email us at info@aaplog.org
We will use the Cvent event app (optional) and send details to all registrants a week before the conference. Throughout the conference, you can use the app to find the updated schedule and the following:
- Real-time reminders and announcements about conference programming
- Profiles of exhibitors, sponsors, and fellow attendees, as well as a chat feature allowing you to connect with them
- Polling
- A discussion forum allowing you to share thoughts with all conference attendees
- And more!
Contact Us
Questions?
Please leave your contact info and a message below and we will be in touch.