By Felipe on December 17th, 2021. Posted under: 2021, Blog Post, Featured Article
Many of the recent abortion restrictions limit access to abortion training and education, making MSFC’s work more essential than ever. MSFC is working to create well-trained, empathetic physicians who can center the patient experience, reduce health inequities, and offer the full range of comprehensive reproductive health. Check out the videos below to learn about how MSFC is working to ensure medical students can access abortion training regardless of the state they go to medical school in; to create more expansive educational opportunities and provide expertise and perspective to all students.
By Felipe on November 16th, 2021. Posted under: 2021, Blog Post, Featured Article
First published in September 8, 2016.
As a first year medical student, I let my doubts get in the way of my education. I was intrigued by the idea of abortion education, but I missed out on Medical Students for Choice’s 2014 Conference on Family Planning (CoFP) because I wasn’t confident enough to make the trip alone. I worried that I would be judged for going and that my safety might be compromised.
That changed after becoming president of my school’s MSFC chapter. I felt compelled to learn more about abortion and family planning. I didn’t want to just say that I supported a woman’s right to choose; I really wanted to understand the issues surrounding reproductive healthcare. Together with my fellow leader, Claire Meikle, we dove head first into the world of Medical Students for Choice.
The author and her co-student leader.
We began the year by attending the 2015 Conference on Family Planning in Philadelphia, PA, and it was such an amazing experience! From the moment we arrived, we were greeted with open arms and were already known by name from our previous MSFC leadership involvement. We heard from amazing speakers from all over the world (we even made our moms attend so we could attend *every*single* breakout session!). We connected with leaders of other chapters and learned some amazing content that we then brought back to improve our own chapter. At the conference, I was able to not only learn more about reproductive health care, but also gain a better understanding of my own beliefs. I was encouraged to push myself out of my comfort zone to continue my abortion education. I took all that I had learned from the conference and all of the questions that I still had and carried them with me to the Abortion Training Institute later that year. Since then, I developed an entire Family Planning course for our school and am currently leading a research project on family planning education for medical students.
No matter how far you are into your medical education, you will gain so much from MSFC’s conference! From the guest speakers to the hands-on training sessions, there is something for everyone. No matter your hesitation, fear not—the CoFP is a safe and welcoming place to start or expand your family planning education. (Plus, it’s a great excuse to travel!)
While I know that medical school can be overwhelming and there’s never enough free time, attending MSFC’s Conference on Family Planning is a valuable experience that is worth the time away from campus.
Are you convinced yet? Ready to register? Sign up here!
By Felipe on November 08th, 2021. Posted under: 2021, Blog Post, Featured Article
Last month, we heard from Kizza Blair, a fifth-year medical student from Gulu University his account of the East African Regional Meeting. “We were trained on legal aspects of reproductive health, the life of an advocate, primary health coverage, healthcare in a resource-limited setting, and dynamics of family planning and safe abortion. Lastly, we had an opportunity to have a hands-on experience with Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) for surgical abortion using melons and pawpaw role-playing for female reproductive organs.”
The student-led planning committee hosted this regional meeting for students from 5 countries to come together and learn from sexual and reproductive health experts from throughout Africa. All participants were asked to complete a survey before the conference, recording their self-assessed knowledge on SRH topics and their attitudes towards abortion and patients seeking abortion. After the completion of the regional meeting, participants filled out another survey. The changes in participants’ knowledge and attitudes were astounding!
Attitudes were measured on a five-point scale (strongly agree to strongly disagree) using the value statements from IPPF’s “How to Educate about Abortion: a Guide.” We asked five questions to measure their attitudes. Responses on the post-meeting survey indicate that through education and conversation about abortion, participants moved toward a more accepting outlook on abortion on all five questions.
The East African Regional Meeting was a great success and we are so proud of the students who organized and administered this program!
By Felipe on October 25th, 2021. Posted under: 2021, Blog Post, Featured Article
Medical Students for Choice wrapped up another successful Abortion Training Institute (ATI) season earlier this fall. These virtual ATIs allow highly motivated students to learn many aspects of abortion in an intense, small group learning environment. Students learn about the clinical aspects of first-trimester abortions, examine their own biases and values, and hear from abortion providers about their experiences, challenges, and motivations. Fifty students from 46 schools were accepted. Each student received a training kit in the mail to participate in an Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) workshop to gain facility and familiarity with the equipment.
Reproductive health is a vital part of medicine (and life), no matter what specialty you go into. Unfortunately, most medical school education is still very limited on reproductive health, despite how often it is encountered in practice, which leads to confusion and misinformation, even amongst health care professionals. These classes have been phenomenal in bridging that gap.ATI Participant
Students walk away from the ATIs feeling more knowledgeable about abortion-related topics. Based on the results of pre-ATI and post-ATI tests, students reported being significantly more knowledgeable around the techniques of first-trimester procedural and medical abortion, identifying products of conception, and legal restrictions in the U.S.
When looking at the proportion of students who rated themselves a 4 or 5 on a 1-5 knowledge scale (1 being not competent and 5 being very competent), all changes in knowledge were statistically significant with a p-value of <.0001.
Even among this highly self-selected group of participants, the ATI clarified and solidified these students’ intention to provide abortions in their future careers. For students that indicated future provision was unlikely, their desire to enter a specialty further removed from reproductive health care was the main reason given.
We asked participants to indicate how much of an impact the factors would have on their ability to provide abortions. Below are the percentages of respondents who indicated factors would have a high impact. As you can see, anti-choice legislation was the factor students believed would have the highest impact on their careers.
For me, a big part of medicine is social justice. Becoming an abortion provider is an incredible way I can fulfill that mission. MSFC is helping me reach that goal by providing clinical training, tools, and resources not included in my curriculum.ATI Participant
By Felipe on October 18th, 2021. Posted under: 2021, Blog Post
In 2021, MSFC continued to experience a wave of interest, with new chapters popping up in new areas across the world. We asked two student leaders some questions to gain their insight into why they decided to start a chapter at their university. Here’s what they had to say:
What made you want to start an MSFC chapter at your university?
There was a gap in access to reproductive health services and information including abortion care. There was no student-driven kind of arrangement available to enhance mentorship, leadership, and service provision for reproductive health, including abortion. So, when I was informed by the late student leader Rossette about MSFC and what it does, I fell in love with the idea and wanted to engage in MSFC in my time as a medical student to apply reproductive health knowledge in my practice. Most importantly, it looked like a grand opportunity for me to exercise my potentials in leadership, organization, and networking here at home and abroad.Henry, Student Leader, MSFC Chapter in Soroti, Uganda
I attended the Reproductive Justice Leadership Program offered by AMSA last semester; it was an enlightening experience. I couldn’t believe that my education had been lacking so much that the stigma around Family Planning, being in control of our bodies no matter our race or gender, is being dictated by people who aren’t educated on what each community needs and is biased towards what they believe. I wanted to bring MSFC to my university and region so that we could start the conversation so that we could become more open-minded to any future patient’s needs.Olivia, Student Leader, American University of the Caribbean
Why is it important that sexual and reproductive health (SRH) advocacy and education be brought to your campus (or region)?
My university is a community with over 90% of its students in their reproductive age. This implies a necessity for access to reproductive health information, education, and services. Although many university students are not minors, I mean they have their beliefs and rights. So, it is important that they are empowered to be able to come up with informed decisions on aspects such as abortion, Family planning, and belonging to LGBT community or not.Henry, MSFC Chapter in Soroti, Uganda
It’s important to have this level of advocacy and education in my region because a lot of us want to learn, but we don’t have access to the resources, and a lot of hospitals don’t offer the training provided by MSFC. Even if the training is never used, it’s important to have it so that we can guide our future patients to what is best for them, even if that is outside of our personal comfort zone. I think that this should be a part of our school curriculum so that we are able to help any patient we have.Olivia, American University of the Caribbean
How does being an MSFC student leader align with your future plans (Career, Interests, or other)?
I am a medic, and my life will be medicine as I want to pursue being a medical specialist in Obstetrics and Gynecology and public health. I realized being an MSFC leader puts me at the forefront of all the activities which are a reflection the experience needed in those fields.Henry, MSFC Chapter in Soroti, Uganda
My future plans include being a trauma surgeon or disaster medicine ER physician. So, while I might never encounter a patient that needs guidance about sexual and reproductive health or an emergency abortion, I don’t want to limit my education on something that may benefit the one patient out of a hundred. I want to be able to provide the best care I can to any patient that I encounter and make them feel heard and understood.Olivia, American University of the Caribbean
If you or someone you know is interested in starting an MSFC chapter at your school, visit our Get Involved webpage for more information.
By Felipe on October 04th, 2021. Posted under: 2021, Blog Post
Medical students from different parts of gathered for a regional meeting to harness their abortion service delivery and advocacy skills.
Medical Students for Choice (MSFC) is a non-profit student-led organization that has tirelessly, through the numerous grassroots chapters worldwide, extended not only equipment and materials necessary for safe abortion training but also created a safe space where young people like me with a dream of becoming pro-physicians can go ahead achieve it. For over two decades, MSFC has been dedicated to generating a pool of safe abortion service providers and advocates worldwide, and amazing work has been done in the marginalized parts of the world, particularly sub-Saharan Africa, where I come from. My country of origin is Uganda. I’m currently in my final year pursuing a bachelor’s degree in medicine and surgery at Gulu University, where I happen to serve as the chapter leader of the MSFC Gulu chapter. I attended the East African regional meeting on the 4th of September 2021, where the majority of chapters from East and central parts of Africa were represented both physically and online. Students at the conference came from Uganda, Tanzania, Somalia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, and Burundi. In this regional meeting, we were trained on legal aspects of reproductive health, the life of an advocate, primary health coverage, healthcare in a resource-limited setting, and dynamics of family planning and safe abortion. Lastly, we had an opportunity to have a hands-on experience with Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA) for surgical abortion using melons and pawpaw role-playing for female reproductive organs.
What did I learn from this regional gathering as a future pro-physician in Africa?
First and foremost, I learnt how to confidently use an MVA to initiate termination of a pregnancy or complete an underway process (Comprehensive Post Abortion Care), a lifesaving skill that the majority of our universities have denied us through our medical school training. Secondly, I learnt how to strongly advocate for curriculum reform in my university and advocate for safe abortion care to be adopted in the constitution as part of healthcare because, truth be told, it is. Events like this as so pivotal in our careers as service providers, Did my life change?! Definitely it did!
By Felipe on September 27th, 2021. Posted under: 2021
One of the barriers to Safe Abortion is the lack of trained providers. Trained physicians can provide options counseling, connect patients to resources, provide terminations, or care for people post-abortion. In regions where abortion is heavily restricted, a trained provider can contribute to harm reduction, education, and support for people self-managing their abortions.
However, abortion restrictions, like the ones we are seeing in Texas and Poland, impact access to abortion education and training. So, to celebrate International Safe Abortion Day, we asked our members on what motivates them to advocate for safe abortion, to access abortion training, and to engage with MSFC. Be inspired by the dedication and clarity offered by our students in Ireland, Oklahoma, Missouri, Wisconsin, Massachusetts, Indiana, Uganda, and Democratic Republic of Congo.
Why do you advocate for access to safe abortion?
Safe abortion is a necessary part of healthcare. Open and easy access to it is not only beneficial to a patient’s physical health, but to their psychiatric, emotional, and financial wellbeing as well. These benefits extend to their families and communities as well. Furthermore, safe abortion will always be accessible to those with the money and freedom to travel to it. Those benefits need to be expanded to everyone, regardless of socioeconomic status.Kyla
People who are pregnant are completely entitled to make decisions about their body and healthcare in line with THEIR OWN values–not MY values or “so-and-so” down the street’s values. When people are desperate, they deserve to have a safe and trusted space to access these resources.Christen
I advocate for access to safe abortion to give women and birthing people autonomy over their bodies, to promote reproductive justice, and to support my future patients in maintaining control of their physical and mental wellbeing.AK
As long as there are people with unsafe or undesired pregnancies, there will be a demand for abortion. Abortion is an incredibly safe procedure when performed by a professional, but can quickly become fatal without that supervision. In cases where people aren’t able to access abortion care, more people die – I didn’t go to medical school to bury people.Brienna
For me, I consider that as limits the rights of women and of the human being conceived. the children need maternal love and the woman also needs to have the child with a man of her choice, in favorable financial condition. because all its conditions are not met, African women are exposed to doing it clandestinely and which results in multiple complications with maternal deaths of great prevalence in Africa. in short, I would like women to have their rights to decide on their reproductive activities.Elvis Butera
Why is it important to you to be educated on/trained in safe abortion?
Safe abortion is healthcare. Period.Anonymous
To have more skills and knowledge on have to provide it, like you can’t advocate for something you have no knowledge about, because people are always asking questions.Anonymous
As a routine medical procedure, physicians must be trained and knowledgeable about the basics of abortion provision and have the capacity to counsel on family planning options.Lucy
Nearly one in four women will have an abortion by age 45. Regardless of which medical specialty I select, these people will be my patients and deserve to have an informed and empathetic healthcare provider.Madeline
If abortion is legal, but no one can perform safe abortions, then abortion isn’t really legal. For me, it’s a call to action–I want to make sure I can provide save abortion services and counseling, because if a reproductive-focused physician cannot, then who else can they turn to?Christen
As a member of the LGBTQ+ community I have faced blatant discrimination in medical situations. I personally know the fear members of my community face when they interact with the medical community. This is particularly important regarding transgender patients interacting with the “women’s health” and the OBGYN system. Generally, the OBGYN community is exclusionary to transgender people. Usually this discrimination is not out right, I have seen it in ways that are almost invisible to the heteronormative community. Discrimination in these settings can be seen with the incorrect use of pronouns, assumptions of gender, categorizing the association of pregnancy and abortion with “women” and the overall limited education regarding how to preform pap-smears or medical procedures on people who are on hormone replacement therapy. The LGBTQ+ population is currently underserved in the medical community, and many friends and patients I have worked with have expressed their reluctance to confide in health professionals. I want to serve as a member of this community, to build new standards in OBGYN to become more inclusive. A part of that requires that I have education and training on safe abortions. I want to make sure I have a well-rounded education so I can discuss all options with my patients who may be considering an abortion.Oak
If you are not planning to be an abortion provider (for any reason), why is being a member of MSFC important to you?
I am planning on becoming an abortion provider, but I believe being a member of MSFC is beneficial to any medical student because being educated on the issues at hand is the first step in combating them. People turn to physicians for guidance on a multitude of topics regardless of their specialty, and they should be prepared to answer questions and combat misinformation throughout their careers. Furthermore, medicine is a field rooted in science, and the science has shown numerous times that access to safe abortion is beneficial to individual people and society as a whole. Kyla
It is to seek experience in leadership, which would help me to plead for the women who live the hell of clandestine abortions because of the laws established by men.Elvis Butera
Advocacy is important, whether it’s your community or not that is struggling.Christen
By Felipe on May 11th, 2021. Posted under: 2021, Blog Post
Welcome to the new Student Leader Spotlight series, where we’ll be regularly featuring one of our amazing Student Leaders and hearing in their own words what they care about, and what fuels the work they do with their chapter. Kicking off the series is Ihuoma Igbokwe, 3rd year medical student at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine and MSFC chapter Founding Leader.
What drove you to get involved with MSFC?
Ihuoma Igbokwe, MS3 at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine
Apart from Chicago most of Illinois has conservative views. We see patients who have misconceptions about reproductive justice and fear about the stigma around family planning. I wanted to make sure that I would be well equipped to care for these patients. In addition, being in the capital of Illinois I thought that we could help make a difference in advocating for policy change regarding reproductive justice and family planning.
What do you like most about being part of your MSFC Chapter?
Being able to advocate for better climate for my future patients. I have always been very interested in women’s health, family planning and reproductive justice. I truly appreciate the ability to come together with like-minded people to advocate for patients and ensure that they are treated fairly and have the tools need to make the best decisions for themselves.
What has been your favorite event/chapter activity so far?
My favorite activity so far is when we co-hosted Born after Roe with Planned Parenthood. It was amazing to speak with Chicago Abortion fund and ACLU. I was very thrilled to learn about what they do, what resources they provide patients and what I can do to help them. For me I was able to learn a lot for myself but also for the patients I may see on my rotations, during my sub-I, and my own future patients.
Do you have a favorite Reproductive Rights/Reproductive Justice/Social Justice quote?
“Reproductive freedom is not just the ability not to have a child through birth control. It’s the ability to have one if and when you want” – Pamela Madsen
If you could learn to do anything, what would it be?
If I could learn anything I guess it would be any language originating in East Asia or India. I speak English. I am conversational in Igbo and I learned Spanish and Latin for a number of years. But I have never studied/learned a language originating from an Asian culture.
By Felipe on May 05th, 2021. Posted under: 2021, Blog Post
When is the last time you felt hopeful? For many of us, the vaccine rollout has provided great comfort and helped us feel optimistic. Others have been encouraged by news that our favorite small businesses plan to reopen or by connecting with friends and family through creative, socially distant events.
I find hope from the opportunity to lead Medical Students for Choice (MSFC) as Executive Director, and I am inspired every day as I serve alongside a dedicated community of student leaders and partners organizing to create tomorrow’s abortion providers and pro-choice physicians. Our work isn’t possible without the support of individuals like you; please consider donating today.
My experience in the reproductive health, rights, and justice movement over the last twelve years has instilled in me a tremendous appreciation for the power that lies in community. At MSFC, we know that we cannot do this work alone. With your donation and support, we can provide medical students with the training and resources they need to achieve our mission.
MSFC seeks to center the most marginalized in our communities, and we are working to incorporate anti-racism training into our work to hold the needs of people of color front and center. We’ve increased outreach to reproductive justice leaders and organizations to create fluid pathways for collaboration. We are prioritizing expanding who reproductive healthcare looks to serve, centering equity, and reducing the stigma that trans folks often face when trying to access care.
Our community has grown to 235 chapters in 28 countries, broadening our mission’s reach worldwide. Medical students have led our organization’s work since its inception and will continue to inform how we move forward. This mobile force of dedicated student leaders makes our work to create tomorrow’s abortion providers and pro-choice physicians possible.
We continue to expand access to training for student leaders and hope to offer a hybrid of in-person and online training in 2021. While increasing access to training, we remain cognizant of the threats to legal access to abortion that loom. We are actively exploring new opportunities for student leaders to add their voice to defending access to the full range of reproductive healthcare, including abortion care.
I am hopeful about the future because I believe in the power of our advocacy and activism. There’s no stopping us, but to keep the momentum going, we need your support. Donate now to help us dream bigger, increase access to abortion, and connect the dedicated community of pro-choice physicians, abortion providers, and student leaders worldwide.
In solidarity,
Pamela Merritt
Executive Director, Medical Students for Choice
By Felipe on May 03rd, 2021. Posted under: 2021, Blog Post
Charlotte, Toronto:
The pandemic and the virtual pivot have changed a lot for my chapter, but we are lucky in that our existing leadership structure adapts well to our new circumstances. Below is a short summary of how we operate, what works, and what doesn’t.
At our school, many clubs employ the junior- and senior- director model. Essentially, the senior leaders are two second-year students. Early in the school year, they recruit two first-years for the role of junior director. Recruitment takes the form of social media posts, listserv announcements, and hosting a table at the (now virtual) clubs fair. The application is short and anonymized to promote equity. Once selected, the junior directors work closely with the senior leadership to plan, promote, and execute events. Junior directors then graduate to senior directors the following year, and the cycle repeats.
This structure is great because it eases the incoming leadership into the role; mentorship is built-in. Our foursome becomes a close-knit exec team and we all share the responsibilities pretty equally. There is also less pressure to get a ton of numbers – you just need two motivated people with an interest in reproductive justice. The downside of this model is that we don’t actually have membership. Our club is really just the executive squad, as all our programming is open to every student. Nearly every student group at our school is like this. But what we lack in community feel, we try to make up for with thoughtful and engaging programming. We also try to partner with other Canadian chapters where possible to increase participation. I hope this helps other MSFC chapters to consider a similar model!
Nora, Chicago:
We have been fully virtual since mid-March 2020 and all of our recruitment has been online. We have seen a decrease in attendees to our events as serving lunch or dinner on campus was always a major incentive in the past, but it has resulted in more intimate discussions during our events. This academic year, we participated in a virtual Student Activities Fair, our primary recruitment event for incoming M1s. The school held it via virtual Zoom rooms and we prepared a few slides with information on the types of events we have as well as contact information. We also write and send out a monthly newsletter to our members with information on current events, a brief history lesson on reproductive justice, and action items. It is fun to compile and allows our members to see us pop up monthly in their inbox as a reminder we are still here!
We are currently in the process of transitioning our e-board so that M2s can phase out of leadership and focus on Step 1 studying – this also allows us to have multiple e-board elections throughout the academic year (one early in the fall to recruit M1 reps and one in the winter to transition those M1 reps into leadership roles). Progressively transitioning M1 reps gives them the exposure to hit the ground running once they take over leadership roles. Our M1 rep this year in particular has been wonderful about coming up with creative events we can host virtually and spreading excitement about it throughout her class.
Recruitment and involvement are definitely down this year compared to last year, but without our M1 rep, it would be even lower than it already is. Our M1 rep has been crucial to our success this year.
