A group of students at the University of Minnesota is petitioning the university to reinstate a fellowship for medical students that would allow the students to partner with a local Planned Parenthood facility.
The petition calls on the University not to “allow partisan politics to influence education, particularly when it deprives our medical students of an opportunity to become further trained in essential reproductive healthcare.”
“Our hope is that our voices are heard loud and clear,” said the co-author of the petition, Trish Palermo, according to LifeNews.com.
The University initially suspended the fellowship after receiving many complaints from students, parents, and pro-life groups who were concerned that the school was partnering with Planned Parenthood and encouraging medical students to learn how to abort babies.
The fellowship is currently under review for at least a year, but some students hope to get it reinstated for the fall semester.
In response to the petition, the university wrote in a statement: “The Medical School did not make this decision [to suspend the fellowship] alone. The decision was made by President (Kaler) and his senior advisers at a critical point in the legislative session with the threat of elimination of the university’s bonding request.”
Photo courtesy: Flickr.com
Publication date: June 4, 2018