Medical Students Walk Out on Antiabortion Speaker

University of Michigan healthcare students walked out on a speech Sunday by an antiabortion speaker all through their “white coat day” to mark the start off of health care university.

Illustrations or photos on Twitter exhibit the walkout.

In the weeks ahead of the speech, college students petitioned to have the speaker changed. The speaker was Kristin Collier, an assistant professor at the health care school. She has spoken out several situations versus abortion.

“While we assistance the rights of freedom of speech and faith, an anti-alternative speaker as a consultant of the University of Michigan undermines the University’s place on abortion and supports the non-universal, theology-rooted platform to restrict abortion entry, an essential part of health-related care,” reported the petition. “This is not simply a disagreement on individual opinion by our demand we are standing up in solidarity from groups who are hoping to just take absent human legal rights and limit medical treatment.”

MLive reported that a professional medical college spokeswoman said (before the walkout), “As with all Michigan Medicine White Coat ceremonies, the concentration of the speaker is to welcome pupils into the professional medical profession, recognizing their achievements and the new journey they will undertake. The ceremony is not a forum to express personalized political or religious beliefs.”

In her speech, Collier did not examine abortion.