Last Friday, the U.S. Supreme Court handed down an historic ruling overturning its own precedent in Roe v. Wade and empowering individual states to fully protect unborn life. It also upheld the Mississippi 15-week abortion ban in Dobbs v. Jackson. The American College of Pediatricians (ACPeds) was quick to applaud this decision.
The response from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) was the opposite. In a press release following the decision, the AAP grounded its response to the reversal of Roe by doubling down on adolescent access to abortion. In a second press release, the AAP reaffirmed its 1989 position that pregnancy counseling for teens and adolescents should include “termination of pregnancy” as an option.
Dr. Quentin Van Meter, President of the ACPeds released the following statement:
“The American College of Pediatricians could not disagree more with the American Academy of Pediatrics’ push of harmful ideology onto teenagers. Pediatricians are health professionals– not political activists. How then can pediatricians encourage teenagers to pursue life-ending procedures like abortion, procedures that kill our youngest patients, instead of providing teenagers with life-affirming services they clearly need? Pediatricians should be teaching teenagers healthy lifestyle choices such as Sexual Risk Avoidance Education.”
Dr. Robin Pierucci, Chair of the ACPeds’ Pro-life Committee, also stated:
“We are pediatricians who champion caring well for all human beings, starting at conception. As states move toward more pro-life policies in this post-Roe world, we will improve not only our ability to care for the premature, but also will gain opportunities to address the myriad of issues that teenage mothers are facing. Termination always destroys the baby and then returns the wounded mother to the broken world from which she came. As pro-life physicians, we don’t choose between baby or mother, we choose both.
For more information on ACPeds’ position statements, please click below:
- “When Human Life Begins,”
- “School-Based Sex Education in the United States,”
- “Induced Abortion: Risks That May Impact Adolescents, Young Adults, and Their Children,”
- “The Teenage Brain: Under Construction.”
