The CEO of a medical professional organization specializing in obstetrics, the practice concerned with childbirth and pregnancy, as well as gynecology, on Wednesday argued for unlimited abortion because the procedure “saves lives.”
“Abortion is safe,” Christopher M. Zahn, interim chief executive of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), wrote in an op-ed in the Washington Post. “It improves and saves lives, and it must be available without restrictions, without limitations and without barriers — just as any other critical part of health care.”
Zahn, alongside interim director of advocacy and public affairs for the Society of Family Planning Jennifer Villavicencio, was responding to a piece in the publication from prominent pro-life activists a week prior. Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and Kellyanne Conway, counselor to former president Trump, wrote in their op-ed that 2024 Republican candidates need to go on “offense” regarding abortion to combat Democratic extremism on the issue. They accused many Republicans of choosing to “bury their heads in the sand” and missing opportunities to share a strong pro-life message since Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022.
“Democrats’ message-testing instructs them to scaremonger about a GOP ‘national ban’ with no exceptions and to avoid important realities of a child’s development — such as a heartbeat at six weeks or the evidence that unborn children can feel pain by 15 weeks,” they wrote. “Democrats are making a radical push for abortion on demand throughout pregnancy and will try to put some version of that question on the ballot in the coming election.”
The ACOG in March banned a group of pro-life doctors representing the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) from setting up a booth at their annual conference, even though they had been allowed to have a presence at the event for 15 years prior.
“Despite multiple requests for an explanation as to why, the only explanation we’ve received is a vague explanation that we disagree with ACOG, presumably on the issue of abortion,” Dr. Christina Francis, president of AAPLOG, said on Twitter at the time.
In his piece, Zahn said Conway and Dannenfelser were relying on biased polling and misleading information to suggest that the GOP contenders should make pro-life advocacy a centerpiece of their platforms.
“In an Informed debate, the truth is what matters and now we finally hear the truth from the abortion lobby,” Dannenfelser said in a statement. “So now we take this question of abortion limits to voters and those running for public office. Americans are compassionate people and overwhelmingly reject all-trimester abortions on demand. The more they learn of the extremist positions of organizations in power, the more they reject them.”