Incoming students of the University of Michigan Medical School stage a walkout during their white coat ceremony to protest the invitation of an anti-abortion doctor, Dr. Kristin Collier, who was invited to the event as a keynote speaker.
White coat ceremonies, also known as initiation ceremonies, are held in medical schools to welcome new medical students as they are presented with a doctor’s coat.
The video, which shows students in white coats walking out of the auditorium as Dr Kristin Collier begins her speech, is going viral on social media.
Incoming medical students walk out at University of Michigan white coat ceremony as keynote speaker is openly anti-abortion pic.twitter.com/Is7KmVV811
— Scorpio (@PEScorpio) 24 July 2022
The most important thing in therapy, the thing you cannot teach, is to stand up for what is right. Medicine, especially corporate medicine, is designed to break you. You have to be able to stand up for your patients.
I see that an entire class chooses the hard right rather than the easy wrong. pic.twitter.com/ByQscJY66d
— Dub️ (@DubTryNStopMe) 25 July 2022
Greetings! The woman who cannot have a child here – my inability to conceive is not a burden to any other woman. Forcing someone to stay pregnant just because I can’t – is ridiculous – don’t use us as your argument.
— holly_the_OT (@hhaberernOT) 25 July 2022
Now that’s something. Upcoming medical students take a stand for what they believe in.
This is an appropriate response when faced with an unstable situation.
Go out in large numbers. just walk out.
The adults in the room just left. Decent and without name calling.
— ampT (@superAMPT) 25 July 2022
Good for these students, and what a shame the University of Michigan put them in that position. But students willing to take a stand will make good doctors.
— Jessie Defends Police Fund Abortion Loscho (@JessieLosch) 24 July 2022
The freedom to have a family on one’s own terms is a God-given right. There is no forced birth.
— robert taylor (@unrealbobtaylor) 24 July 2022
Why would a medical school invite an anti-abortion keynote speaker? It is like the celestial society that invites a flat soil. I get it, diverse opinions but that person is against a medical procedure, which is saving in many cases. Why TF..
— BhuSharma (@BhuSharma3) 25 July 2022
As a retired MD, I salute and congratulate each and every one of you who follow your conscience and stand up and walk out. The White Coat ceremony is a major milestone today. Using this platform to express your respect for medical autonomy is the first step in honoring your commitment.
— Tia Will (@Medwoman1) 25 July 2022
Interestingly, the ceremony took place a month later on July 24. US Supreme Court overturns 50-year-old Roe v Wade decisionwhich previously guaranteed abortion access nationwide.
A week before the initiation ceremony, 350 students from the University of Michigan Medical School signed a petition urging officials not to invite Dr.
In the petition, he wrote, “While we support the rights to freedom of speech and religion, an anti-choice speaker as a representative of the University of Michigan undermines the university’s position on abortion and non-universal, theology-based forums.” Supports restricting access to abortion, an essential part of medical care”.
“It is not merely a disagreement over personal opinion; Through our demand, we stand in solidarity against groups that are trying to take away human rights and restrict medical care,” he said.