Every Doctor an Abortionist?

Aquinas College is a small Catholic college in California with a distinctive curriculum devoted to studying the great books of Western civilization. When it applied for accreditation, the school was praised for its high academic standards—but there was one obstacle: The college did not meet the "diversity requirement." The problem, you see, is that in its faculty, student body, and curriculum, Aquinas College was simply too Catholic. The accrediting agency demanded that the college "diversify" its faculty and institute a multicultural curriculum that would reflect non-Western and non-Christian world views. Otherwise, Aquinas College could lose its accreditation and might have to shut down. Accrediting agencies are private organizations whose purpose is to provide quality control for the nation's educational institutions. But lately, some accreditors have been using their power to impose a left-wing ideology on private and Christian schools. And here's the rub: Colleges without accreditation don't qualify for federal funds—including the government loans most students use to finance their educations. A few years ago Westminster Theological Seminary got into accrediting trouble—again—for not having enough "diversity." Too many Calvinists, it seems. Even secular schools with secular standards are being attacked. Baruch College—a public institution—was accused of "emphasiz[ing] academic values without exhibiting equal concern for the values of social justice." Whole professions are being shaped by the politically correct requirements of accrediting agencies. The American Association of Law Schools, for example, requires that every law school in the country establish an affirmative action program, which, in effect, sets up different entry requirements for blacks as opposed to whites. The result is a two-track educational program that lowers academic standards while unfairly stigmatizing newly graduated black attorneys. But the most alarming example of all recently occurred in the medical profession. The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has a new requirement that all med schools with programs in gynecology and obstetrics must include training in how to perform abortions. Institutions with religious or moral objections to abortion would still be required to have their students get abortion training somewhere else. The goal is to turn every obstetrician into an abortionist. Today's intellectual establishment, with its postmodern world view, rejects moral absolutes and traditional Western ideas. They promote their ideology not by argument but by influencing the media, the arts, and education, thereby shaping the entire culture. Some are fighting back. There is a bill in Congress to block the new med school abortion requirement. Alternative accrediting agencies are forming, such as the American Academy for Liberal Education, to foster traditional values in higher education. Christian schools need to follow the lead of Thomas Aquinas College, which successfully won accreditation after a protracted struggle against the objectionable standards. It's a battle worth fighting. Otherwise, the day is not far off when Christian colleges will be forced to promote an anti-Christian agenda.  

01/30/96