The fate of our medical system in the future lies in the hands of medical students being trained today. Unfortunately, there is cause for alarm when examining the training and medical ethics of our current batch of medical students.
The evidence for this concern comes from many sources I have written about in the past. (See Woke Medical Education, Woke Medical Education Update, Woke Medical Education Update 2024.) These posts mostly concerned training and speculated on the impact of such training. But now we have a real-life example of how this trend is influencing our world today.
Dr. Travis J. Morrell is an Ob-Gyn physician practicing in Grand Junction, Colorado. In an Op-ed entitled Ideology in Medical School Threatens Everyone’s Health, he tells us what happened in his state when he tried to protect children from radical transgender ideology. Here is his story: “Beware the rising generation of physicians. In June, an army of medical students defeated my attempt to protect children from radical transgender ideology. My fellow physicians in the Colorado Medical Society overwhelmingly stood with me in defense of basic medical ethics and evidence, yet students from Colorado’s premier medical school overruled us. Americans should worry that when today’s trainees become tomorrow’s doctors, they’ll put political activism ahead of patient health.”
Dr. Morrell filed a resolution with the Colorado Medical Society in March which was intended to protect children from transgender medical interventions that can ruin healthy sexual function and damage reproductive ability, potentially leading to a lifetime of physical and mental ailments. He built his resolution around the Colorado Medical Society’s existing policy on female genital mutilation. Passed in 1998 and reaffirmed in 2014, that policy opposes the practice, which is also a federal crime. Yet transgender surgeries often involve mutilation, which activists deem medically necessary. Earlier treatments, such as puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones, are typically prescribed in preparation for mutilating surgeries on teenagers.
Dr, Morrel tells us what happened: “Under Colorado Medical Society rules, my resolution came before the general membership in mid-May. My fellow physicians were given four weeks to vote, and within days passage looked likely. After more than three weeks, more than 60% of participating physicians supported the resolution. But by June 12—the day before voting ended—the tide had dramatically turned, thanks to a sudden influx of votes by medical students.
At first, I didn’t understand why so many medical students chimed in, but a website called the Publica has since reported that Frank Merritt, an assistant professor at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, emailed the student body shortly before the vote ended. “I don’t usually use this position for things like this,” Dr. Merritt’s email began. He then asked the medical students to vote against my resolution. He told the students that all of them are “automatically members of the Colorado Medical Society, though I imagine most of you have not registered accounts.” He provided instructions for registering and implored them to act fast as voting was closing soon.
The army of medical students swung into action. More than 150 voted against my resolution, with the final vote being about 75% opposed. Six medical students voted in favor—an act of bravery considering their names were made visible to other society members, including fellow students, during the voting process. Following the vote, on June 14, the Colorado Medical Society’s board formally rejected my resolution. It’s possible the board would have made the same move had the resolution passed, but it would have been much harder to justify.”
This real-world example of the impact of woke medical education has frightening ramifications for our country’s medical future. Combine this with the increasing call for socialized medicine like Medicare for All and our medical future is indeed alarming.
