The OBservations Podcast

Board-certified OB-GYN Dr. Vivina Napier offers information about Issue 1, the pro-abortion proposed Ohio state constitutional amendment. Dr. Napier discusses the current abortion landscape in Ohio as well as the potential impacts of Issue 1 on the preborn and on women.

Helpful resources:

• Learn more about Issue 1 from Protect Women Ohio
• Learn more about Do No Harm Ohio, the medical professional coalition promoting life in Ohio
• Help promote life in Ohio through Created Equal

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Genetic Counselor Caroline Aragon discusses the role of genetic counseling in the case of difficult prenatal diagnosis, the challenges and opportunities of recent improvements in genetic technology for life-affirming care, and more.

Here to speak to these challenges is Caroline Aragon, a board-certified genetic counselor based out of Minnesota, where she offers telehealth genetic risk assessment, education, and psychosocial support in a variety of clinical areas including prenatal, general genetics, and oncology.  She is available to provide genetic counseling in 17 states. Caroline believes all individuals and families deserve to be empowered to make informed decisions through understanding their genetic information. She feels blessed to provide holistic pro-family, faith-based genetic support that seeks to understand the individual with their unique needs and values. Her primary focus is helping patients and families understand and adapt to information about genetic risk or genetic diagnosis. In addition, she has experience in genetics research, clinical study management, and patient advocacy. 

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Katy Faust, Founder and President of children's rights organization Them Before Us, discusses her organization's work, why our healthcare system needs to prioritize the needs of children, and what medical professionals can do to advocate for children in their practice.

Katy publishes, speaks and testifies widely on why marriage and family are matters of justice for children. Her articles have appeared in Newsweek, USA Today, The Federalist, Public Discourse, The Daily Signal, the Washington Examiner, the American Mind, and the American Conservative. Katy helped design the teen edition of CanaVox which studies sex, marriage and relationships from a natural law perspective. Her latest book, Raising Conservative Kids in a Woke City, was released in September of this year and is available on Amazon in audiobook, ebook, or print format. She is also the author of Them Before Us: Why We Need a Global Children’s Rights Movement, which is also on Amazon. She and her pastor husband are raising their four children in Seattle. Katy will also be giving a keynote address at the Matthew Bulfin Educational Conference this February.

Resources:

• Come hear Katy speak at MBEC by registering
• Read Katy's book, Them Before Us: Why We Need A Global Children's Rights Movement
• Learn more about Them Before Us on their website
• Learn more about the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship and TBU's role in it

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In part 2 of this two-part episode, theologian and writer Dr. Grattan Brown discusses broader insights from his essay series highlighting the experiences of pro-life medical professionals.

Dr. Brown is a Catholic theologian with a background in philosophy and literature. During the past 25 years, he has written about bioethics and served on various hospital ethics boards. He received a Doctor of Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Lateran University in Italy and has served as Associate Professor of Theology at St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia and at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina. He helped launch Thales College in Raleigh, NC and currently teaches Theology to high school students in Alexandria Virginia. At the beginning of this year, Dr. Brown launched a new project to publish the stories of pro-life medical professionals. The series aims to highlight the human face as well as the professional excellence of pro-life doctors, nurses, and midwives in response to inflammatory pro-choice rhetoric that erupted after Roe was overturned. 

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Dr. Brown's essay series
• Where Is Wisdom, Dr. Brown's website
• Get in touch with Dr. Brown via Where Is Wisdom
• Email Dr. Brown to work with him on this series: [email protected]
• The Abortion Diary

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In this first half of a two-part conversation, theologian Dr. Grattan Brown will be discussing his essay project highlighting the voices of pro-life medical professionals.

Relevant Links:

writer grattan brown | Rehumanize (rehumanizeintl.org)

Dr. Brown is a Catholic theologian with a background in philosophy and literature. During the past 25 years, he has written about bioethics and served on various hospital ethics boards. He received a Doctor of Sacred Theology at the Pontifical Lateran University in Italy and has served as Associate Professor of Theology at St. Charles Seminary in Philadelphia and at Belmont Abbey College in North Carolina. He helped launch Thales College in Raleigh, NC and currently teaches Theology to high school students in Alexandria Virginia. At the beginning of this year, Dr. Brown launched a new project to publish the stories of pro-life medical professionals. The series aims to highlight the human face as well as the professional excellence of pro-life doctors, nurses, and midwives in response to inflammatory pro-choice rhetoric that erupted after Roe was overturned. 

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In this episode, board-certified family physician Dr. Lisa Gilbert further discusses the adoption system and how medical professionals can support pregnant patients considering making an adoption plan for their children.

Dr. Gilbert is on faculty at the Ascension Via Christi Family Medicine Residency Program. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). After residency, she completed a fellowship in International Family Medicine, received additional certification in Tropical Medicine, and has worked internationally in Niger, Cameroon, and Liberia. She is passionate about beginning and end of life issues, bioethics, and conscience protections. She serves as Chair of the Ascension Via Christi Ethics Integration Committee in Wichita and also has completed a Master’s degree in Catholic Clinical Ethics from Georgetown University. She is a prolife advocate and serves as Kansas State Director for the American Academy of Medical Ethics (AAME). Within AAPLOG, she is founder and chair of the Family Medicine Subsection, and has served on the AAPLOG board for over 3 years.

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In the first of this two-part episode, board-certified family physician Dr. Lisa Gilbert, FAAFP discusses what medical professionals need to know about adoption: the demographics of patients who make adoption plans for their children, the reasons that go into an adoption decision, an overview of the adoption process, and more.

Dr. Gilbert is a board-certified family physician and is on faculty at the Ascension Via Christi Family Medicine Residency Program. She is a Fellow of the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). After residency, she completed a fellowship in International Family Medicine, received additional certification in Tropical Medicine, and has worked internationally in Niger, Cameroon, and Liberia. She is passionate about beginning and end of life issues, bioethics, and conscience protections. She serves as Chair of the Ascension Via Christi Ethics Integration Committee in Wichita and also has completed a Master’s degree in Catholic Clinical Ethics from Georgetown University. She is a prolife advocate and serves as Kansas State Director for the American Academy of Medical Ethics (AAME). Within AAPLOG, she is founder and chair of the Family Medicine Subsection, and has served on the AAPLOG board for over 3 years. 

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In part 2 of this two-part episode on fertility awareness and cycle charting, Dr. Marguerite Duane offers thoughts on the current state of fertility education in medical training, reviews common misconceptions about FABMs, and offers resources to medical professionals and patients.

Dr. Duane is a board-certified family physician and the co-founder and Executive Director of FACTS About Fertility, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating healthcare professionals and students about the scientifically valid natural or fertility awareness-based methods of family planning. Dr. Duane recently completed a primary care research fellowship with a focus on fertility awareness at the University of Utah. She also serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Georgetown University, where she directs an introductory course on fertility awareness. Dr. Duane is trained as a Creighton, FEMM and NeoFertility Medical consultant, as well as a TeenSTAR educator. She has published articles on the effectiveness of FABMs for family planning and the use of apps for tracking fertility.  She has also developed and delivered multiple presentations, nationally and internationally on the use of FABMs for family planning and women’s health. 

Find FACTS at FACTS About Fertility: Home

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Dr. Marguerite Duane, board-certified family physician and executive director of FACTS About Fertility, discusses fertility awareness and cycle charting -- their roles in a physician's practice and patients' lives. This is the first of a two-part conversation.

Dr. Duane recently completed a primary care research fellowship with a focus on fertility awareness at the University of Utah. She also serves as an Adjunct Associate Professor at Georgetown University, where she directs an introductory course on fertility awareness. Dr. Duane is trained as a Creighton, FEMM and NeoFertility Medical consultant, as well as a TeenSTAR educator. She has published articles on the effectiveness of FABMs for family planning and the use of apps for tracking fertility.  She has also developed and delivered multiple presentations, nationally and internationally on the use of FABMs for family planning and women’s health.

To learn more about FACTS and take advantage of their resources, go to www.factsaboutfertility.org. 

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(This episode has been re-uploaded.)

In the first of this two part episode, Robin Atkins discusses the relationship between abortion and mental health, drawing from the psychological literature as well as her own experience as a practicing mental health counselor.

Robin Atkins is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor who has been in practice for over 15 years and has operated her own practice since 2015, specializing in reproductive mental health. This includes serving patients who are dealing with infertility, high-risk pregnancy, traumatic birth, postpartum depression and anxiety, pregnancy loss, and more. She sits on the AAPLOG Board of Directors and serves as Chair of our Mental Health Subsection.

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