Join us Wednesday, May 23 at 3:00pm ET for a live, interactive tweetchat with Linda Girgis, MD, on crisis pregnancy centers. Topics to be discussed are subject to change but will likely include:

  • What exactly are crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) and how they differ from abortion and/or planned parenthood clinics.
  • What physicians–especially primary care providers and OBGYNs–and their patients who are pregnant or sexually active should know about CPCs.
  • Potential reasons why HBO’s Last Week Tonight With John Oliver felt CPCs were such an important topic that they dedicated an entire episode to them.
  • Potential reasons why it is that as of December 2017 there were 2,752 “Pregnancy Help Locations” in the US, according to Heartbeat International, compared with 1,671 abortion-providing facilities as of March 2017, according to The Guttmacher Institute, or one abortion clinic in Mississippi, versus 38 CPCs.
  • Whether or not women with unplanned pregnancies are indeed often actively misled by CPCs while trying to access care, and whether or not CPCs really do seem to be happy doing so, as John Oliver claims in the aforementioned episode.
  • What to make an address made by Abby Johnson (a pro-life activist) at Heartbeat International’s 2012 annual conference in which she is filmed saying “…the best client you ever get [at a CPC] is one that thinks they’re walking into an abortion clinic… the ones that think you provide abortions.”
  • Potential reasons behind why CPCs aren’t regulated as healthcare providers.
  • Whether it’s good or bad that CPCs can get federal funding and that 16 states directly fund them with taxpayer dollars as of February 2018, according to the National Abortion Rights Action League.
  • More…

How to Join the Chat

  1. Log into your Twitter account. Don’t have an account? Where have you been?! Just kidding, we don’t judge, but you should get one! It’s easy to create, and free. You’ll be glad you did.
  2. A couple minutes before 3:00pm ET on May 23, Search Twitter (top right of every Twitter page) for #PWChat.
  3. On the search results page, click Latest at the top left. This will show you all the latest tweets using the #PWChat hashtag. The page will automatically update every couple minutes, letting you know how many new tweets there are using the #PWChat hashtag.
  4. Answer questions, reply to other’s comments, or make a comment of your own as much and as often as you like. Just make sure to leave room in include #PWChat to make sure what you tweet is included in the chat. Otherwise, it won’t be seen.
  5. While you’re at it, be sure to follow @physicianswkly and @DrLindaMD!


About Dr. Girgis

Dr. Linda Girgis MD, FAAFP is a family physician who treats patients in South River, New Jersey and its surrounding communities. She holds board certification from the American Board of Family Medicine and is affiliated with both St. Peter’s University Hospital and Raritan Bay Hospital. Dr. Girgis also collaborates closely with several universities and medical schools where she teaches medical students and residents.

Originally from Pennsylvania, Dr. Girgis attended the St. George’s University School of Medicine and successfully her medical degree. She went on to complete her internship and residency at Sacred Heart Hospital, a program affiliated with Temple University. During this time, she was recognized as intern of the year by the faculty. Over the course of her practice, Dr. Girgis has continued to earn awards and recognition from her peers and a variety of industry bodies, including:

• Top Innovator in Healthcare award by Quality Insights, 2006
• Patients’ Choice Award, 2011-2012
• Compassionate Doctor Recognition, 2011-2012
• Bridges to Excellence Recognition 2012-2015
• NCQA Physician Practice Connections – Patient Centered Medical Home, 2012-2015

She is an Advisory Board member for Sermo. Additionally, she is a blogger for Physician’s Weekly and MedicalPractice Insider as well as a guest columnist for Medcity News and Health IT Outcomes. She published articles in several other media outlets. Recently, she has authored the books, “Inside Our Broken Healthcare System” and “The War on Doctors”. She has been interviewed in US News, on NBC Nightly News, and many other media outlets. Dr. Girgis’ primary goal as a physician remains ensuring that each of her patients receives the highest available standard of medical care.

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