PRO-LIFE PHYSICIAN ENDORSEMENTS POUR IN!
American Association of Pro-Life OB-GYNS and the Association of Pro-Life Physicians Stand with Yes on 26
TUPELO, MS – Pro-life physician organizations from around the country are weighing in and lending their
support to Mississippi?s effort to become the first state in the nation to recognize legal personhood for the
unborn. The American Association of Pro-Life OB-GYNS (AAPLOG) – a special interest group of ACOG (the
American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists) – and the Association of Pro-Life Physicians have
endorsed the Mississippi personhood amendment and issued statements of support, excerpts of which follow:
AAPLOG Executive Director Joseph DeCook, MD, FACOG stated: “AAPLOG supports the Mississippi
Personhood Amendment. From the time of fertilization, the nascent human being contains a full human diploid
genome, and is in the process of ongoing early growth and development. This is a human person, and warrants
the respect and protection normally afforded persons in our society.”
Association of Pro-Life Physicians Director James P. Johnston, DO noted: “The original Hippocratic [oath] was
a commitment to never intentionally kill a human being, including a human being in the womb. „I will neither
give a deadly drug to anybody if asked for it, nor will I make a suggestion to this effect. Similarly, I will not
give to a woman an abortive remedy.? (circa 400 B.C.) After physicians in Germany were found guilty of
experimenting on Jewish concentration camp prisoners in World War II, the Declaration of Geneva was adopted
by the World Medical Association in 1948, which stated, „I will maintain the utmost respect for human life, from
the time of its conception.? Adhering to the honorable medical tradition of „First, do no harm?, the Association of
Pro-Life Physicians fully endorses Mississippi?s Personhood Amendment, which would amend the state
constitution to protect the inalienable right to life of all Mississippians.”
Yes on 26.net Advisory Board Member Freda Bush, MD and noted Jackson OB-GYN commented in response:
“Amending Mississippi’s state constitution to recognize the personhood of all human beings regardless of age,
size or place of residence (in the womb) will not only be a great civil rights victory for the state and for our
babies, but is consistent with sound, responsible, and ethical medical practice. We are grateful for the support of
fellow pro-life physician colleagues from around the country.”
###
