As a physician, no matter what your specialty, you have an opportunity to be a voice and speak out in support of your right to practice health care according to your conscience.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology (ACOG) has published a very biased position statement on the rights of conscience (or lack thereof) for health care providers entitled "The Limits of Conscientious Refusal in Reproductive Medicine."

ACOG's misguided and uninformed public statement on conscience limits will likely discourage people with religious convictions from practicing or choosing obstetrics and gynecology as a profession.

At a time when many communities are already suffering the loss of obstetricians and gynecologists forced out of their practices for economic reasons, it seems especially unwise to send such a message of ideological intolerance and religious discrimination.

ACOG's aggressive political advocacy for abortion has significantly impaired its ability to speak for all physicians and to judge matters of medical ethics without bias.

Focus on the Family signed a letter that was sent to ACOG expressing concerns about its position paper, in concert with a number of other organizations, including Christian Medical Association, American Association of Pro Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Catholic Medical Association, Family Research Council, Concerned Women for America, Christian Coalition of America and Americans United for Life.

Please urge ACOG to reconsider and withdraw this statement as a step toward renewing its respectability and credibility. Address your letter to:

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecology
Douglas W. Laube, MD, President
PO Box 96920
Washington, D.C. 20090-6920