Edmund D. Pellegrino, MD, MACP

Dr. Pellegrino is Professor Emeritus of Medicine and Medical Ethics at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics and Interim Director of the Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University. He has served as Chairman of the President’s Council on Bioethics in Washington, DC. In 2004 Dr. Pellegrino was named to the International Bioethics Committee of UNESCO. Dr. Pellegrino is the author of over 600 published items in medical science, philosophy, and ethics.

Dennis P. Hollinger, PhD

Dennis Hollinger is President and the Colman M. Mockler Distinguished Professor of Christian Ethics at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, MA. Prior to assuming his present role in 2008 he served as President and Professor of Christian Ethics at Evangelical Theological Seminary in Myerstown, PA. Dennis is a frequent speaker in churches, pastors’ conferences, seminaries, colleges and academic forums. He is the author of four books.

David Stevens, MD, MA (Ethics)

Dr. David Stevens is the Chief Executive Officer of the Christian Medical & Dental Associations, the nation’s largest faith-based organization of doctors. Dr. Stevens, as spokesman for more than 15,000 doctors, has conducted hundreds of media interviews. Prior to his service with CMDA, Dr. Stevens served as medical director of Samaritan’s Purse. Dr. Stevens holds degrees from Asbury College and the University of Louisville School of Medicine and is board certified in family practice. He earned a master’s degree in bioethics from Trinity International University in 2002.

Kevin FitzGerald, SJ, PhD, PhD

Kevin T. FitzGerald, SJ, PhD, PhD, is the Dr. David Lauler Chair of Catholic Health Care Ethics in the Center for Clinical Bioethics at Georgetown University. He is also an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology at the Georgetown University Medical Center. He has published both scientific and ethical articles in peer-reviewed journals, books, and in the popular press. Fr. FitzGerald has given presentations nationally and internationally, and often been interviewed by the news media, on such topics as human genetic engineering, cloning, stem cell research, and personalized medicine.

H. Tristram Engelhardt, Jr., MD, PhD

Dr. Engelhardt is Professor in the Department of Philosophy, Rice University, and Professor Emeritus in the Department of Medicine and in the Department of Community Medicine, Baylor College of Medicine. Dr. Engelhardt is senior editor of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy, Christian Bioethics, the Philosophy and Medicine book series, and the book series Philosophical Studies in Contemporary Culture. He has authored over three hundred sixty articles and chapters of books in addition to over one hundred twenty book reviews and other publications. He has also co-edited over thirty volumes, authored several books, and has lectured widely throughout the world.

C. Christopher Hook, MD

C. Christopher Hook, MD, FACP, is a Consultant in the Division of Hematology, Department of Internal Medicine, and the Special Coagulation Clinic and Laboratory at the Mayo Clinic, and Associate Professor of Medicine, Mayo College of Medicine, Rochester, MN, USA. In addition to his work in hematology, Dr. Hook founded the Clinical Ethics Council, the Ethics Consultation Service, the Reproductive Medicine Advisory Board and the Transplantation Ethics Advisory Board for the Mayo Clinic. Dr. Hook is a Senior Fellow of The Center for Bioethics & Human Dignity, and a Fellow of the Wilberforce Fellows, Washington, DC. 

Daniel P. Sulmasy, MD, PhD

Dr. Sulmasy is the Kilbride-Clinton Professor of Medicine and Ethics in the Department of Medicine and Divinity School at the University of Chicago, where he serves as Associate Director of the MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics. He was appointed to the Presidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issues by President Obama in April, 2010. His numerous articles have appeared in medical, philosophical, and theological journals and he has lectured widely both in the U.S. and abroad.

As members of AAPLOG we affirm:

1. That we, as physicians, are responsible for the care and well being of both our pregnant woman patient and her unborn child.
2. That the unborn child is a human being from the time of fertilization.
3. That elective disruption/abortion of human life at any time from fertilization onward constitutes the willful destruction of an innocent human being, and that this procedure will have no place in our practice of the healing arts.
4. That we are committed to educate abortion-vulnerable patients, the general public, pregnancy center counselors, and our medical colleagues regarding the medical and psychological complications associated with induced abortion, as evidenced in the scientific literature.
5. That we are deeply concerned about the profound, adverse effects that elective abortion imposes, not just on the women, but also on the entire involved family, and on our society at large.

The following is not a part of our Mission Statement, but addresses this frequently asked question that arises from pro-life doctors who read our Mission Statement:

What is AAPLOG's position on "abortion to save the life of the mother"?

Abortion is the purposeful killing of the unborn in the termination of a pregnancy. AAPLOG opposes abortion. When extreme medical emergencies that threaten the life of the mother arise (chorioamnionitis or HELLP syndrome could be examples), AAPLOG believes in "treatment to save the mother’s life," including premature delivery if that is indicated — obviously with the patient's informed consent. This is NOT "abortion to save the mother’s life." We are treating two patients, the mother and the baby, and every reasonable attempt to save the baby's life would also be a part of our medical intervention. We acknowledge that, in some such instances, the baby would be too premature to survive.