The OBservations Podcast

 Brief Description: In today's episode, we discuss pro-life medical advocacy on Capitol Hill with Rebecca Weaver, the Director of Advocacy and Policy at AAPLOG. 

Rebecca discusses AAPLOG's recent trip to Washington, D.C. to bring the medical voice of the pro-life movement to Capitol Hill.  She discusses meetings with lawmakers to advocate for certain policy changes on behalf of pro-life medical students and residents, and for a restoration of safeguards in the distribution of the drug mifepristone. Additionally, Rebecca Weaver gives her insight into upcoming legislation and the key issues that will impact life-affirming medicine in 2026. 

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In this second half of a two-part conversation, Dr. Sean Hutzler discusses EMTALA and how it affects emergency obstetric care.

Dr. Hutzler is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician practicing community medicine in Corpus Christi, TX. He has experience in a wide variety of Emergency Medicine practice settings including large academic/referral centers, rural emergency medicine, community emergency medicine, and freestanding ERs. While he is primarily a clinician, he also teaches residents on shift and in a lecture-based curriculum through the local EM residency program. In addition to chairing the Emergency Medicine subsection of AAPLOG, he is an active member of the Catholic Medical Association and writes blog posts for Secular Pro-Life regarding life and EM issues.

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In this first of a two-part conversation, Dr. Sean Hutzler discusses EMTALA and how it affects emergency obstetric care.

Dr. Hutzler is a board-certified Emergency Medicine physician practicing community medicine in Corpus Christi, TX. He has experience in a wide variety of Emergency Medicine practice settings including large academic/referral centers, rural emergency medicine, community emergency medicine, and freestanding ERs. While he is primarily a clinician, he also teaches residents on shift and in a lecture-based curriculum through the local EM residency program. In addition to chairing the Emergency Medicine subsection of AAPLOG, he is an active member of the Catholic Medical Association and writes blog posts for Secular Pro-Life regarding life and EM issues.

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Clarke Forsythe of Americans United for Life compares & contrasts state-level pro-life laws that were in place before Roe and after Dobbs.

Clarke Forsythe serves as Senior Counsel at Americans United for Life and is author of two books about the infamous Supreme Court decision, Pushing Roe v. Wade Over the Brink: The Battle for America’s Heart, the Human Right to Life, and a Future Full of Hope as well as Abuse of Discretion: The Inside Story of Roe v. Wade. Clarke has served on the AUL team since 1985, including six years as Vice President and General Counsel, overseeing their nationwide litigation and legislation strategy, and ten years as President. Clarke has argued cases before federal and state courts and has testified before Congress and state legislatures. He is also a prolific writer on pro-life policy issues. 

Further reading:

The States' Response to Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Center: https://aul.org/2025/06/25/states-response-to-dobbs/#:~:text=Following%20the%20Dobbs%20decision%2C%20over,to%20save%20the%20mother's%20life.

Medically Necessary Abortion After Dobbs: What, if Anything, Has Changed? https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4909792

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Clarke Forsythe of Americans United for Life  discusses the history of Roe v. Wade and the foundational errors that ultimately led to its overturning.

Clarke Forsythe serves as Senior Counsel at Americans United for Life and is author of two books about the infamous Supreme Court decision, Pushing Roe v. Wade Over the Brink: The Battle for America’s Heart, the Human Right to Life, and a Future Full of Hope as well as Abuse of Discretion: The Inside Story of Roe v. Wade. Clarke has served on the AUL team since 1985, including six years as Vice President and General Counsel, overseeing their nationwide litigation and legislation strategy, and ten years as President. Clarke has argued cases before federal and state courts and has testified before Congress and state legislatures. He is also a prolific writer on pro-life policy issues. 

Further reading:

The States' Response to Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Center: https://aul.org/2025/06/25/states-response-to-dobbs/#:~:text=Following%20the%20Dobbs%20decision%2C%20over,to%20save%20the%20mother's%20life.

Medically Necessary Abortion After Dobbs: What, if Anything, Has Changed? https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=4909792

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In this second half of a two-part conversation, Dr. Kerri Brackney and Dr. Robin Pierucci discuss their perspectives on premature prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM), especially previable or periviable PPROM.

Dr. Brackney addresses the considerations physicians have when treating pregnant mothers and their preborn babies who are facing PPROM. She is double board certified in obstetrics & gynecology as well as maternal fetal medicine. Dr. Pierucci, a board-certified neonatologist, approaches this topic from the perspective of someone who cares for premature babies.

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Dr. Kerri Brackney and Dr. Robin Pierucci discuss their perspectives on premature prelabor rupture of membranes (PPROM), especially previable or periviable PPROM.

Dr. Brackney addresses the considerations physicians have when treating pregnant mothers and their preborn babies who are facing PPROM. She is double board certified in obstetrics & gynecology as well as maternal fetal medicine. Dr. Pierucci, a board-certified neonatologist, approaches this topic from the perspective of someone who cares for premature babies.

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From an AAPLOG-led letter to the FDA to a major pro-life victory at the U.S. Supreme Court, there's a lot happening in Washington, DC.

AAPLOG's Director of Advocacy and Policy, Rebecca Weaver, joins AAPLOG CEO Dr. Christina Francis to offer updates.

Read the letter: https://aaplog.org/six-medical-professional-organizations-sign-letter-urging-fda-to-address-public-health-crisis-caused-by-unregulated-abortion-drugs/

Get AAPLOG Action's updates: https://aaplogaction.org/

Learn more about media training: https://aaplog.org/expert-witness-training/

Questions? Email [email protected]

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Lori Kuykendall, President of Beacon Health Education Services, discusses sexual integrity, what it means, and how it can be used to promote patient health.

Lori earned a Bachelor's Degree in Health Education from Texas A&M University and a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion from Liberty University. She started in prevention education at the Women’s Pregnancy Center in Houston in 1995. In 1998, she started a county-wide abstinence program that was among the first to receive Title V Federal Abstinence Education funding. Later, she was the Executive Director of Lifetalk Resource Center in Frisco, Texas. She has worked with Aim for Success, now merged with Youth Equipped to Succeed, and also Medical Institute for Sexual Health. Her love for health and children and families were a focus of mission work in Romania and Guatemala. Lori’s passion is to be “a strong light that guides and gives hope” and to advance physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual health. She and her husband Chris have four young adult children.  

Learn more about Beacon: https://beaconhealthed.com/home-1

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Dr. Francis Nuthalapaty discusses ways that pro-life physicians can support medical residents in our current medical culture surrounding abortion. 

Dr. Nuthalapaty is double board certified in obstetrics and gynecology as well as maternal fetal medicine. He serves as the founding program director for the OB-GYN residency program at his Florida hospital. 

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