(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .
Michigan students walk out of white coat ceremony to protest anti-abortion keynote speaker [1]
['Daily Kos Staff', 'Backgroundurl Avatar_Large', 'Nickname', 'Joined', 'Created_At', 'Story Count', 'N_Stories', 'Comment Count', 'N_Comments', 'Popular Tags']
Date: 2022-07-26
Collier was aware of her lack of support in the space. During her speech, she did not directly address her abortion or other political views, but did refer to the controversy resulting from her presence.
"I want to acknowledge the deep wounds our community has suffered over the past several weeks," Collier said during her speech. "We have a great deal of work to do for healing to occur," she added. "And I hope that for today, for this time, we can focus on what matters most: coming together to support our newly accepted students and their families with the goal of welcoming them into one of the greatest vocations that exist on this earth."
x Incoming medical students walk out at University of Michigan’s white coat ceremony as the keynote speaker is openly anti-abortion pic.twitter.com/Is7KmVV811 — Scorpiio (@PEScorpiio) July 24, 2022
Collier is infamous for being “pro-life” and making several anti-abortion remarks as a result. According to Salon, in May she reportedly said that it was an expression of feminism to fight for "prenatal sisters" who had been subjected to "the violence in the act of abortion."
"Holding on to a view of feminism where one fights for the rights of all women and girls, especially those who are most vulnerable. I can't not lament the violence directed at my prenatal sisters in the act of abortion, done in the name of autonomy," she tweeted in May. "Liberation that costs innocent lives is just oppression that is redistributed.”
Additionally several interviews with conservative outlets, including Catholic newsletter The Pillar and The Federalist, Collier expressed the same views. She even did presentations focused on anti-abortion ideology.
“The prenatal child, even from the very beginning, is not just a clump of cells, but actually a living, growing human with organs and functions just like ours,” she said in a presentation with the Notre Dame Office of Life and Human Dignity.
x truly grateful for the support, emails, texts, prayers and letters I’ve received from all over the world regarding the event that will happen today. i feel so bolstered by it. and for my team that have carried me daily thru this —I love you — Kristin Collier (@KristinCollie20) July 24, 2022
Despite being a medical school that should focus on public health and respect its students' wishes, the University of Michigan Medical School refused to acknowledge it was in the wrong for booking Collier.
The students’ petition was denied by Dr. Marschall Runge, a dean at the University of Michigan Medical School. According to Fox News, Runge said it is the "critical importance of diversity of personal thought and ideas, which is foundational to academic freedom and excellence.”
After the ceremony, the school also issued the following statement:
"The University of Michigan does not revoke an invitation to a speaker based on their personal beliefs. However, the White Coat Ceremony will not be used as a forum to air personal political or religious beliefs; it will focus on welcoming students into the profession of medicine."
The school wasn’t the only one who reacted to the news of student disapproval. Of course, the news of students walking out during Collier’s speech was picked up by several conservative outlets that reported the incident as an act of disrespect toward Collier.
"They should be ashamed of their actions, and they need to take a moment to seriously reflect on whether they will be able to properly discharge their obligations when they finish medical school,” The National Review's report of the incident said.
According to the Daily Beast, the protest follows another incident during which a school representative, coach Jim Harbaugh, spoke at an anti-abortion fundraiser: “I believe in having the courage to let the unborn be born.”
The school, which has historically been considered a liberal institution, experienced a lot of backlash for this. Several students called out the school for failing to take a hard stance on abortion access.
At this time, abortion remains legal in Michigan, but many fear that may change due to a 1931 law banning abortion that could be brought back.
A full video of the White Coat Ceremony can be found here, Collier’s comments start around the 1:45 mark.
[END]
---
[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/7/26/2112535/-Viral-Video-UMichigan-students-walk-out-of-white-coat-ceremony-to-protest-anti-abortion-speaker
Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.
via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/
