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New CMA Guilds!

Please join us in giving a warm welcome to THREE new CMA Guilds!!!

Catholic Medical Association Announces Three New Guilds Officially Join Organization.

Guilds in Vermont, Oklahoma and California Bring Guild Total to 113

Philadelphia, PA- June 7, 2021- The Catholic Medical Association is proud to announce three new guilds have officially joined the organization.

Together with all of our members, we welcome the The Mother Cabrini Guild of the Catholic Medical Association to the CMA. Based in Burlington, Vermont, the Mother Cabrini Guild brings our guild total to 113.

CMA guilds aim to provide fellowship, education and opportunities which serve their local Church and public. They are also a base for medical students and residents to find guidance.

“Watching the CMA grow is incredibly rewarding and we are grateful for the contributions the members of these guilds will make as Catholic physicians,” said CMA President Dr. Michael Parker.

“We are very excited to have the Mother Cabrini Guild as a source of fellowship and support for the Catholic health care workers in Vermont,” said Dr. James Ulager, Vice President of the Mother Cabrini Guild.

“Given the nature of the past year, that sense of community is more important than ever. We deeply appreciate the support of Bishop Coyne, and the guidance of our chaplain Father Jon Schnobrich,” added Dr. Ulager.

In recent months, the CMA also welcomed The Holy Family Guild of Oklahoma City and The Diocese of Monterey Guild.

“The Holy Family Guild of Oklahoma City seeks to create a community of physicians and healthcare professionals where they have the opportunity to educate, guide and support each other and the community on matters related to the treatment of our sisters and brothers in Christ,” said Dr. Vincent Venincasa, President of The Holy Family Guild of Oklahoma City.

“We are so pleased to have established our CMA guild in Monterey and welcome all health care professionals, their families, clergy and friends.  We join the national CMA and other guilds in our priorities of fellowship, education, service and growth in prayer and holiness. We are blessed to have the wonderful support and guidance of Bishop Danny Garcia and our Chaplain, Father John Farao, as we move forward in this year of challenge and hope,” said Dr. Cindy Hunt, President of The Diocese of Monterey Guild. “Building our Guild presence is vital to the continued efforts of the CMA, allowing our mission which is to form and support current and future physicians to live and promote the principles of the Catholic Faith in the science and practice of medicine, to become fully realized across the country,” added Dr. Parker.

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The Catholic Medical Association is a national, physician-led community of more than 2,300 healthcare professionals consisting of 113 local guilds. CMA mission is to inform, organize, and inspire its members, in steadfast fidelity to the teachings of the Catholic Church, to uphold the principles of the Catholic faith in the science and practice of medicine.

Jill Blumenfeld

blumenfeld@cathmed.org cathmed.org

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COVID-19 Vaccine Guidance

This is good guidance from the JPII institute.  There are serious concerns that at least some vaccines for coronaviruses can cause increased severity of disease in response to exposure to the virus after immunization.  So, before consenting to a trial ask:

1. Were animal studies conducted with the vaccine?
2. How many different animal models were tested with the vaccine?
3. Was there any evidence of toxicity with the vaccine?
4. Were the animals that received the vaccines subsequently challenged with the wild-type virus and what was the outcome of those studies?

I would only add that we should also be asking whether cell lines derived from aborted children were used in the development of a vaccine as well.

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Journal Club…by Video Conference!

We had a wonderful Journal Club on January 16th, on the important topic of brain death, facilitated by FLG Board member, Dr. Fernando Ontiveros.

We were very happy to welcome four participants via video, one from the Rochester are and three from Florida!  Among them was our friend, Dr. Felix Rodriguez, President of the Palm Beach Guild. You can check them out on Twitter @PalmBeachCMA.  Please also check out Dr. Rodriguez’s success in founding a Guild of the CMA in Puerto Rico (The Pulse: Fall/Winter 2019)!

Thank you to Dr. Rodriguez and everyone how took part in this Journal Club!

We are hopeful that this will only be the beginning of collaboration among Guild across the country!

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Help Us Oppose Physician Assisted Suicide

 

When: February 4, 2020 @ 11:00 am
Where: Governor Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza
100 S Mall Arterial
Meeting Room 1, Albany
NY 12242
Contact:New York Alliance Against Assisted Suicide
585.225.2340

 

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Remembering 9/11

Please join us in praying for the victims and perpetrators of the terror attacks of September 11, 2001. 

Mary, Our Lady of Perpetual Help, Pray for Us!

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Abortion & The American Academy of Family Medicine

Please see the email from the CMA below. Please contact us if you’d like more info and we would be happy to connect you.

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My name is Lisa Gilbert and I want to update you about a new Family Medicine Section within AAPLOG (American Academy of Prolife OBGYNs). If you are in family medicine and want to join this growing group of physicians, please email me…

In conjunction with the newly formed Family Medicine Section of the Christian Medical and Dental Association (CMDA), we are also reaching out to family physicians with an important message. On September 23-25, the American Academy of Family Physicians Congress of Delegates (COD) will meet in Philadelphia to consider resolutions on abortion that will steer policy and advocacy of the AAFP for years to come.

The AAFP has traditionally remained neutral on abortion. Over the last several years, the AAFP has passed resolutions on abortion-related topics, addressing safety, accessibility, and government intrusion on the physician-patient relationship. This year, however, it has become obvious that the intention is to move the AAFP to outright endorsement of abortion. Multiple states are submitting multiple resolutions with several major focuses: (see 2019 COD Resolutions) (AAFP member login required). 

  1. That the AAFP affirmthe legality of Roe vs Wade;
  2. That the AAFP oppose the criminalization of abortion providers;
  3. That the AAFP partner with medical groups (ACOG) in position papers to defend access to abortion services;
  4. That the AAFP support the right of family physicians to provide abortion care and support all clinicians who are trained in providing medication and first trimester aspiration abortions.

In the next four weeks, we vitally need your help in pushing back against these pro-abortion movements. If you are an AAFP member, we are specifically asking for your participation in one of two ways: 

  1. If you are attending the AAFP FMX in Philadelphia, would you consider arriving several days early for the Congress of Delegates to speak for the unborn?Any member of the AAFP can speak for/against resolutions during reference committee hearings on Monday afternoon, September 23rd. We have prepared talking points to help with this effort and would like to place you in contact with others at the COD so that our efforts are coordinated.
  2. If you are unable to attend the Congress of Delegates, please contact your two state Delegatesand two Alternate-Delegates with your concerns. Again, we have prepared talking points below and drafted a separate example letter that can be personalized and submitted to your state delegation. To reach your state Delegates and Alternate Delegates, please contact your state association as outlined on this page.

We know you receive multiple calls to speak up and advocate on many different issues…but in this fight, we can advocate for OUR patients who truly do not have a voice.  If you are not a member of the AAFP, we would deeply appreciate your prayers as we try to push back against these movements. 

Thank you for defending life!

Sincerely,

Lisa Gilbert, MD

AAPLOG Family Medicine Section Chair

                                                                                     ____________________________________                                                                                               _________________________                                                                                                              Talking Points   1) Abortion Neutrality – Ideally, we would prefer that the AAFP take a stance AGAINST abortion but  clearly the battle lines have shifted. We feel it is important that the AAFP retain its neutral stance on abortion. The AAFP has had a longstanding stance of neutrality on abortion. Why does the AAFP now need to take a pro-abortion stance at this time? We have concerns that a very significant portion of AAFP members would be opposed to a pro-abortion stance and leave the AAFP, thus splitting the membership and reducing the importance of advocacy for issues that unite all family physicians. If the Congress of Delegates or the Board of Directors really believe there is a concerted effort by its members to take a pro-abortion stance, then we ask that they perform a poll of the membership to ascertain the exact stance of the membership and not just the vocal interests groups. 2) Affirming the Legality of Roe vs Wade and the criminalization of abortion providers – As we have seen in a handful of states, the citizens of these states have spoken through their democratically elected officials that abortion should be restricted through law. Although abortion is currently “legal” via the Supreme Court decision, this was largely girded on the argument that the government should not be involved in the privacy of a woman and her decision to seek an abortion…it was not via legislation that abortion became “legal” in the US. See the extensive explanation included at the end of this letter
We will also hear the argument that the lawmakers need to stay out of the “physician-patient relationship.” This argument is political doublespeak for the AAFP as we ask the government to intervene in tobacco use, in advocating for government mandated vaccinations, etc. If not through lawful and legislative means, how else should the citizens of our country enact such a change to abortion law?    3) Signing with the ACOG – “The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists supports the availability of high-quality reproductive health services for all women and is committed to improving access to abortion.” By signing with ACOG, the AAFP would thus move from a neutral stance on abortion to one of explicit support. See the more extensive explanation included at the end of this letter.   4) Supporting family physicians in the training and performance of abortion – Those advocating for abortion clearly want the AAFP to support, advocate, and train family physicians in the delivery of abortion care. This is contrary to many of us who entered family medicine with the intention to support life from the time of conception.   The reference committees at the Congress of Delegates require us to be present in person to speak. Otherwise we can, at minimum, speak to and through our state delegates in opposition to this movement. Do not feel disheartened if you feel that you are standing alone, for earlier this summer a petition was signed by nearly 1700 family physicians and submitted to the AAFP Board of Directors. Although you may speak or write as a single individual, you share the concerns of many others.  For in-depth points of rebuttal to the recent pro-abortion stances of the AAFP and Group of Six, please read this rebuttal statement. If you would like to learn more about the Congress of Delegates, how resolutions are brought about, and the process by which you may influence the future of the AAFP, please read the following document. (AAFP Member log in required) Please contact Margie Shealy at main@ethicalhealthcare.organd let her know if you will be able to attend the Congress of Delegates so that we can coordinate our efforts.                                                                                 ____________________________________                                                                                             _________________________                                                                               Further Background around AAFP Resolutions   Regarding the AAFP endorsing the legality of Roe v. Wade, the right to privacy and the patient-physician relationship: The Roe v. Wade right to abortion is grounded in the right to privacy argument, and in the definition of personhood.1 The right to privacy argument finds precedent in Griswold v. Connecticut. Griswold holds that a right to privacy prevents the government from intruding into a married couple’s bedroom to restrict their use of contraception.2 Roe further denies the fetus legal status as a person under the law.3 It is important to note that Griswold presumes to deal with two consenting adults making bilateral decisions regarding reproduction. But there is a huge gulf in terms of the right to privacy in the decision to use contraception and the right to privacy in the decision to abort a child.4 The decision is antiquated. 3-D ultrasound, the tremendous advances in fetal surgery, and the completion of the human genome project have taken us into the womb to see this fetus: the unborn child who has a complete and unique human genetic code, who looks like her parent, who sucks his thumb, who moves away from the ultrasound probe pressing against her mother’s abdomen, who practices breathing and has a developed neurologic system that enables him to feel pain.   This is the unborn child who now undergoes life saving intrauterine surgery and can survive outside of the womb as early as 23 weeks gestation. Physicians are pushing back the age of viability every year. We now understand that this unborn human is a person under any definition of personhood. The right to privacy cannot encompass all privately made decisions-by the individual or by the patient and physician within their relationship-because the right to privacy does not allow one individual to harm or kill another innocent human being.   The argument can thus be made that although Roe is technically the law of the land, its reasoning is based upon a faulty understanding of human life and personhood in the womb.5 It follows that its argument of a right to privacy in abortion thereby is no longer a valid one. The AAFP should at a minimum elect to stay neutral regarding Roe, as it is now a controversial decision based on antiquated science.6   Regarding joining with ACOG: The American College/Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has long been aligned with pro-abortion groups. Its political nature (and advocacy for pro-abortion policies) through the Congress and its political action committee (OB-GynPAC) is overt. But the purpose of AAFP has never been one of playing politics; rather, its purpose is to represent ALL of its members as its members care for patients throughout the United States and the world. The AAFP should stand for life for all patients. Physician killing – whether in the womb or at the bedside of a terminally ill person-should never be endorsed; however, if the AAFP is uncomfortable taking such a “pro-life” position, it should at least default to a “do no harm” stance and proclaim neutrality on these issues.
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Thank You – Catholics @ URMC

Thank you to everyone who joined us for the Catholics @ URMC meeting today!

We had a great conversation about living an authentically Catholic life while working in healthcare.

We hope to see you at our next meeting, which will be September 19th

If you are not able to physically join us at URMC, we do have the ability to video conference.  If you’d like to know more please contact us here.

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Catholics @ URMC Meetings

Catholics @ URMC is a collaboration between the UR Newman Center and the Finger Lakes Guild that aims to bring together Catholics, and non-Catholics, to provide mutual support for those working in the health professions. We are planning to meet monthly at noon. We will open by praying Sext (the Midday prayer of the Liturgy of the Hours) and then having an open discussion about either a preselected topic or whatever may be on the minds and hearts of those in attendance. Meeting Schedule:
  • July 8, 12:10 – 12:50, back right of the Strong Cafeteria
    • Topic – Future of Catholics @ URMC
  • August 2, 12:10 – 12:50, back right of the Strong Cafeteria
    • Topic – Challenges to Living the Faith at Work
  • September 19 October 2nd, 12:10 – 12:50, back right of the Strong Cafeteria
    • Topic – Real-World Impact of Physician- Assisted Suicide in NYS
If you are not familiar with the Liturgy of the Hours fear not, you are not alone! It’s quite easy using the iBreviary app and we’ll all walk through it together.