Alina Thopurathu has filed a lawsuit against Springfield College in Massachusetts for discriminating against her Catholic beliefs when she spoke up after she was made to observe a second trimester abortion without being informed. An excellent student since beginning the program in 2017, Alina was dismissed from that program in July 2023, two months after she was due to graduate.
The Springfield College Physician Assistant program has two tracks: one is the typical 27-month Master of Science in Physician Assistant Studies, while the other spans 6 years because it combines an undergraduate Bachelor of Science in Health Science: Pre-PA Studies with the Master of Science. Alina had been a high-performing student in the 6-year program. She successfully earned her bachelor’s degree and matriculated into the master’s program in 2021, and continued to excel throughout its didactic and clinical portions. Her sixth clinical rotation was in ObGyn, which involved observing surgeries. Without access to or disclosure of the indications for any procedures, Alina presumed she would be observing a D&C after a spontaneous abortion, but instead witnessed a D&E for a second trimester induced abortion.
Alina did not voice any concerns during the surgery, but did so after as part of her required review of her rotation experience. She wrote, “While I was at gyn surgery I was scheduled to see a D&E. I wish I was asked prior to being assigned to this case if I was comfortable with seeing a D&E…In the future, I believe students should be asked if they are comfortable with seeing a D&E, rather than being assigned the procedure without patient information. I was unable to look up the context of this case. I had wrongfully assumed, that this was status post a spontaneous abortion,” according to the lawsuit.
This is a model way of handling this situation.
This is a model way of handling this situation. Alina did not disrupt the procedure, put the patient at risk, nor involve the patient in the controversy by objecting at the time of the procedure. Instead, she expressed her concerns, based in her deeply held religious convictions, in the manner provided by Springfield College.
Alina’s ObGyn preceptor, according to the lawsuit, gave her a solid passing score for the rotation, commenting that she, “actually asked good questions…Patients seemed to like her…Overall I enjoyed working with her…She has good compassion and bedside manner,” but did not fill out the women’s health skills portion. The preceptor wrote that Alina, “…should feel much more comfortable with women’s health and being proactive and I do not think this is demonstrated.”
Check your compassion and common sense at the door in order to ‘provide’ patients with whatever they want.
Let’s decode this. Alina “should feel much more comfortable” with witnessing a live baby being dismembered within its mother’s womb, and overlooking the life-long negative impact this procedure has on the mother, who may have been driven to it by a lack of social support. This denies the inherent dignity of the mother and child. Check your conscience at the door in order to “provide” patients with whatever they want. Alina “should feel much more comfortable” with what the preceptor is comfortable doing; in other words, Alina should let her conscience become desensitized as well.
The preceptor did not even complete Alina’s evaluation, writing, “As Alina was unable to have her women’s health skills filled out and I do not have much feedback from others, some form of remediation in office practice may be advisable.” There was not enough information after four weeks at the site? Whatever comments the preceptor may have written, that person still issued a passing grade, not an incomplete. Alina went on to pass all her clinical rotations.
This was an opportunity for the Springfield College PA Program to support its student, but instead persecuted her for her faith-based views. Immediately following the rotation, the program leadership added negative comments to Alina’s file about lacking confidence. Let’s be clear; what Alina wrote on her rotation evaluation took courage, which comes from confidence, and, in this case, from her faith in God. This is the very core of religious freedom and practicing according to one’s conscience.
…what Alina wrote on her rotation evaluation took courage, which comes from confidence, and, in this case, from her faith in God.
Next came their coercive pressure. Recall that the Springfield College Program begins as an undergraduate program; the leadership is addressing the youngest-aged student possible who can qualify to graduate from the program. On December 2, Alina is notified they want to discuss the evaluation. December 5th, Alina responds, and the leadership finalizes an ad hoc “Remediation Contract”, but does not sent it to her for review. It deemed the ObGyn rotation to be incomplete despite meeting the student handbook requirements
They meet December 8th and inform Alina that she would be expelled if she did not sign the contract that placed her on an undefined academic probation. All of this was beyond anything in the student handbook and required she complete tasks not required of any other student. This must have placed Alina under tremendous duress for all that happened subsequently.
And much more did happen as detailed in the lawsuit, including repeating the rotation elsewhere as the sole student with a PA who only worked 32 hours, and took several days off during that time; they worked together only 12 hours in total. Despite outstanding reviews at all her other clinical rotations, Alina was given a failing grade. The PA is an adjunct in the program; she also ironically works for the Trinity Health System.
The 1996 Coats-Snowe Amendment (1996) prohibit discrimination against a wide range of health care entities that refuse to perform, provide training for, or refer for abortions. It explicitly indicates that students are protected under this amendment. The battle now is to show Alina suffered discrimination. Meanwhile, her career is on hold, and another faithful Catholic clinician is being hindered from entering the healthcare workforce.
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