By Felipe on May 30th, 2023. Posted under: 2023, Blog Post, Featured Article
May is Mental Health Awareness Month, and at Medical Students for Choice, we firmly believe that a comprehensive approach to healthcare must address mental health.
The 2023 theme is “More Than Enough”
This year, the theme for Mental Health Awareness Month is “More Than Enough.” As stated by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, this campaign serves as a beacon of hope and inclusion. It reminds us that all individuals, regardless of where they are on their mental health journey, deserve support, resources, fulfillment, and a caring community.
As we advocate for reproductive justice, we know that mental health is integral to reproductive healthcare. Individuals seeking abortion care often face challenges that deserve our attention. It is essential to address these issues in the provision of care.
Access to safe, legal, and comprehensive reproductive healthcare is a fundamental human right.
Photo via National Alliance on Mental Illness
Reproductive Justice
We must listen and learn from the lived experiences of those seeking reproductive healthcare. By centering their stories and perspectives, we can better understand the intersectionality of mental health and reproductive justice. These learnings will lead us to more comprehensive care that meets the unique needs of each individual.
Advocacy for reproductive justice must extend beyond the clinical setting. It involves engaging with community organizations, movements, and policy initiatives that address systemic issues. By collaborating with other healthcare professionals, activists, and advocates, we can collectively work towards dismantling oppressive structures and creating a more just and equitable healthcare system.
Abortion Bans and Restrictions
We understand the emotional toll providing reproductive healthcare in places with high restrictions on abortion care can take on individuals. It’s crucial to regularly check in with yourself, seeking support from trusted friends, family, or mental health professionals. Forge connections with like-minded colleagues and organizations to create a sense of community and support in this vital work.
Remember, you are not alone! It’s okay to ask for help or take a well-deserved break when needed. Your impact on the lives of patients seeking reproductive justice is profound. By prioritizing and checking in on your mental health, you ensure you can continue to provide care that makes a difference.
We have a unique opportunity to advocate for better access to mental health services and ensure that clinical practice integrates mental health. Let us stand united in our commitment to reproductive justice, amplifying voices, and advancing equity in healthcare.
No one should ever doubt their worth or feel alone on their journey. We are here to ensure that every individual, every voice, and every mental health experience is acknowledged, respected, and valued.
By MSFC Staff on April 06th, 2023. Posted under: 2023, Blog Post
Last updated: August 4, 2025
The global rise of anti-trans rhetoric and policies represents a significant setback for human rights and bodily autonomy. Medical Students for Choice condemns these attacks and stands in solidarity with our trans and gender diverse members across the globe.
We recognize that attempts to restrict or eliminate the trans community’s access to life-saving gender affirming care are an attack on bodily autonomy broadly and the profession of medicine specifically. We reaffirm our commitment to advocating for comprehensive reproductive and LGBTQ+ healthcare, promoting inclusivity and equality, and fighting against discrimination and prejudice in all its forms.
Medical Students for Choice proudly advocates for a world in which queer people can thrive in communities free of violence and oppression.
By Felipe on April 03rd, 2023. Posted under: 2023, Blog Post, Featured Article
My name is Rachel Steffes, MS, OMS-II at Kansas City University (KCU) College of Osteopathic Medicine and President of our MSFC Chapter.
Research and Abstract
My research focuses on Medical Abortion Trends During COVID-19 at an Independent Clinic in Detroit, Michigan. I’ve worked on this project for the last few years with my co-author, Susanna Wang, MS, MS-2, at Michigan State University College of Human Medicine. We wanted to understand patient preferences towards medical or surgical abortion during the time in which Michigan was under a “Stay at Home” Executive Order. The results showed that medical abortions increased significantly compared to surgical abortion trends during this time. After the Executive Order was lifted, there was an eventual return-to-baseline. We feel like this data shows the importance of medical abortion and the potential for medical abortion’s expansion in rural or underserved communities. After the verdict in the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v. Jackson decision, we feel like our research has become even more relevant: as access to care decreases, there will be the potential for increased use of medical terminations. We will be presenting this research on a national scale at the American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOOG) 90th Annual Conference in San Diego this spring.
Getting Started in Abortion Care
Prior to medical school, I worked at an abortion clinic in Detroit for several years as a medical assistant and counselor. I had a profound sense of impact on the community I was serving, and upon leaving my job, I wanted to feel still connected to the community. Abortion research makes the topic more mainstream, and I feel like this creates a space for open discussion. Because of this piece, I am now involved in two more research projects focusing on abortion.
Inspiration to Becoming a Doctor
I was very clumsy as a child, and repeated illnesses, lacerations, breaks, and bruises landed me in and out of the Emergency Department (ED); when my parents would be overwhelmed with emotion (rightfully so), I was met by a sense of reassurance and peace from the hospital staff. The people around me reflected my feelings of calmness and positivity, knowing what to do to make everything okay. I relished the sense of community, and the confidence and ease the doctors brought to their visitors. As an adult who learned not to be as klutzy, I shadowed over 100 hours in the same ED, learned to suture in a dermatology office, ultrasound at an abortion clinic, and volunteered at a community needle exchange to address addiction and decrease transmissible illnesses. My interest in Emergency Medicine in relation to abortion care would allow me to make an initial and immediate impact on women in crisis.
Kansas City University MSFC Chapter
Our chapter, with over 135 members, has had many amazing events this year so far, including multiple workshops (MVA on Papayas, No Scalpel Vasectomy, IUD insertion); several informative speakers; a movie night with pizza in collaboration with KCU’s Student National Medical Association (SNMA) Chapter to premiere “Aftershock,” a documentary on maternal health; and volunteering at local high schools to teach sexual health, education, and pregnancy prevention.
My favorite events have been our First Annual Sexual Health Bingo and our First Annual Reproductive Health Week. This past fall, our Sexual Health Bingo focused on raising money for Christine’s Place, a local women’s shelter. The KCU community raised $1,056, which purchased feminine and hygiene products and blankets for the shelter. Holding Bingo at a local brewery with over 80 participants, we called out terms associated with female health, STDs, abortion, and pregnancy, along with some “fun facts” to help normalize the discussion of potentially stigmatized topics.
This past February, we hosted Reproductive Health Week, a week-long event that consisted of a Pregnancy Simulation (60 participants), IUD Insertion Workshop (60 participants), C-Section Suture Clinic (70 participants), Valentine’s Day Table (with free condoms, lubricant, and candy, in addition to flowers and raffle tickets for $1), and Sexual Health Trivia. Our Valentine’s Day Table had over 200 students and staff entries into a Chocolate or a Love Box raffle. Our Trivia consisted of over 60 handwritten trivia questions; we held the event at a local restaurant/brewery and had over 70 participants in 13 teams. From the events during the week, we managed to raise $1,015 for No Shame KC, a nonprofit organization focused on ending period poverty by supplying period products to underserved communities.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the amazing women who helped make these events happen. Sexual Health Bingo was in collaboration with KCU’s ACOOG Chapter (with support from Natalie Sipes, OMS-II) and KCU’s Student Osteopathic Medical Association (SOMA) Chapter (with support from Elizabeth Keene, OMS-II). Reproductive Health Week was in collaboration with KCU’s Family Medicine Club (with support from Stephanie Cox, OMS-II, also a member of our MSFC Executive Board) and KCU’s ACOOG Chapter (with support from Brit Belme, OMS-II, and Priya Thakur, OMS-II). I feel honored to work alongside such supportive women when planning these events. I am thankful to be a student at KCU, and very proud to be in such a supportive and engaged medical community.
Top Row, from Left to Right: Brit Belme, Stephanie Cox, Priya Thakur; Bottom Row, from Left to Right: Elizabeth Keene, Rachel Steffes, Natalie Sipes
Starting an MSFC Chapter at Your Medical School
If you are passionate about something, go for it. Find people around you that support you, lift one another up, and have each other’s backs. Our MSFC Executive Board members had different interests within abortion care: Vice President Bina Ranjit, OMS-II, is highly passionate about advocacy, building partnerships with KCU’s Student Advocates For Equality Education (SAFEE) and SNMA Chapters, and provided weekly updates on national policies and abortion training information. Treasurer Stephanie Cox, OMS-II, intertwined abortion care in multiple medical fields, understanding the relevance of it not just in OB/GYN, but also in the Family Medicine community; she provided hands-on support in event planning and execution. Secretary Maheen Khan, OMS-II, found her passion for abortion within the importance of education, forging new connections with principals at local high schools to expand our sexual education volunteering. We would not have accomplished as much as we did without each of our unique interests and differences, and I believe that highlighting those unique perspectives within our events this past year made us successful as a team.
By Felipe on March 08th, 2023. Posted under: 2023, Blog Post, Featured Article
On behalf of the MSFC HQ team, I would like to wish our members, supporters, and alumni a very happy International Women’s Day! The theme of IWD 2023 is #EmbraceEquity, and that is a challenge we are eager to accept.
MSFC recently completed our new strategic plan, and I will be sharing more about it soon. It puts into motion a long-standing priority at MSFC to infuse equity into our programs and tap into the power of our global footprint. MSFC has been supporting medical students in their advocacy, training, and education for 30 years; we know that the path to securing the human right of bodily autonomy is through equitably supporting our chapters as part of the global movement for reproductive health, rights, and justice. Stay tuned for more information on our new strategic plan and how it will guide MSFC’s work!
From the glorious Marea Verde abortion rights victories in South America to hosting papaya workshops in the United States, MSFC student leaders stand in solidarity and are ready to act. We celebrate the abortion rights victory in Benin even as we build strategy to ensure access to safe abortion care is more than a series of words on a page. And as anti-abortion politicians in Mississippi recently revealed in their attempt to prohibit voters from securing abortion rights through a ballot measure, we find comfort in knowing that we are part of the overwhelming majority who support abortion access.
Today and every day, let us celebrate and embrace equity as the means to building a truly inclusive world where we all enjoy the right to bodily autonomy and live in communities free of violence and oppression.
In solidarity,
Pamela Merritt
Executive Director
By Felipe on February 13th, 2023. Posted under: 2023, Blog Post, Featured Article
At Texas A&M University, Ella Nonni, a third-year medical student, Elaine Avshman, a second-year medical student, Akshaya Santhanaraj, a second-year medical student, Uma Reddy, a first-year medical student, Kadambari Suri, a first-year medical student, Diana McKinnon, a fourth-year medical student, Divya Gupta, a second-year medical student developed a reproductive health elective that gives medical students an opportunity to understand and discuss abortion care, family planning, and reproductive health.
Read the syllabus and this interview to learn how they developed this course, and tips to help MSFC Members initiate similar successful projects.
How did creating an elective in family planning/abortion care get started?
The idea started to form when the state of Texas started its restrictive abortion practices. There was a realization that Texas medical students would be seeing less (to no) family planning and abortion care on clerkship. So, there was an emphasis on trying to get exposure to this material and knowledge in the pre-clerkship space. We then surveyed the student body and found there was an interest out there in reproductive health topics.
What were some challenges you faced in this process and how did you overcome them?
We held several meetings with Deans and faculty course directors. Some were enthusiastic about this concept and others held concerns. The truth is – it is unfortunately nerve racking to present some of these topics in such a polarized environment and knowledge about medicine and medical procedures has been politicized. When we faced some pushback, we respectfully explained our goals, stuck to the data, showed how larger well-known organizations (ex ACOG) held up these topics as essential to medical students’ knowledge base, and never shut a door. We welcomed and held space for the concerns, and went back time and again to reengage on the topic.
What could this elective mean for medical students?
This elective is an opportunity for our medical students to learn more about family planning, reproductive health, ethical decision making – it is meant to be informative but also give students a space to talk about “taboo” topics and get some evidence-based understanding of abortion care/family planning/reproductive justice.
What would your advice be to students who are interested in introducing a similar course at their medical school?
A good place to start is a general student body survey – showing there is interest is powerful to decision makers. Create a well-designed outline of what you want to create, ask for feedback, welcome concerns, and stay respectful and thoughtful that people’s concerns and fears are legitimate. Just because something is scary or hard doesn’t mean it is not worth doing.
MSFC believes that abortion and family planning training should be a standard part of all medical school curricula. Visit our Curriculum Reform webpage to learn more about how chapters have successfully advocated for the inclusion of abortion and reproductive health education into their curricula, and to find resources to support your chapter’s work.
By Felipe on January 23rd, 2023. Posted under: 2023, Blog Post, Featured Article, News and Views
By Sarah McNeilly, second-year medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Catherine Stratis, second-year medical student at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, Carly Tymm, second-year medical student at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, Kimberly Graybeal, second-year medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Anne Lally, second-year medical student at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and the rest of the amazing medical student team who helped work on the booklet!
A special thank you to Daniel Baboolal, Alexis Zachem, Vivian Kim, Grace Pipes, Emily Rutland, Maria Schur, Irene Tang, Emma Tucker, and Hana Flaxman for their editorial and fundraising efforts!
This past year, a group of MSFC students from NYC-area medical schools joined forces to form “MSFC NYC” and organized the “Future Docs for Abortion Access Fundraiser” to support patients seeking abortions.
Alongside our fundraising efforts, we produced a zine/booklet, entitled “Accessing Abortion in NYC: A Guide for Medical Students, by Medical Students,” to provide medical students with knowledge on abortion and access to abortion care. We hope it will fill the educational gaps that countless medical students in both NYC and across the country face in the post-Roe era.
As students in New York, a state with one of the strongest legal protections for abortion, we benefit from training in a place where abortion remains legal and at institutions where abortion is still appropriately performed and taught. For that reason, we felt it was that much more important to continue helping our local communities access abortion care and to support pregnant people in states with complete or near-total abortion bans that have begun taking effect. While many may feel helpless in the wake of this decision, it is crucial to recognize that as medical students we can and should advocate for a more equitable and just future.
MSFC believes that abortion and family planning training should be an essential part of all medical school curricula. To access the booklet, click here.
The booklet is a comprehensive guide on the clinical, legal, and social aspects of providing and accessing abortion care in New York City.
Learn below how the booklet was developed to provide accessible abortion education for medical students regardless of where they live, and how medical students can adapt it for their communities.
How did the idea of creating a booklet start?
- After the Dobbs decision, MSFC chapters across the country began communicating nearly daily to discuss opportunities to collaborate. We knew that as New Yorkers, our abortion rights and access would thankfully remain preserved post-Roe, at least in the immediate future, so our earliest meetings focused on how we could simultaneously lend our support to patients and providers in abortion-restricted areas of the country while remaining involved in our local communities.
- Developing educational resources felt like a natural place to start: it provided us with the opportunity to fill curricular gaps for fellow medical students, while potentially helping patients living in or traveling to NYC navigate abortion care.
- Our guide was ultimately written “by medical students, for medical students” for multiple reasons. First and foremost, we felt it was imperative to ensure that our peers had access to robust, accurate abortion education that covered complex medical, legal, and social issues, in line with MSFC’s mission “to create tomorrow’s abortion providers and pro-choice physicians.” Second, we knew that our institutional affiliations gave us built-in distribution networks that would allow us to reach hundreds of students. Third, we recognized the potential downstream effects of medical education: that knowledgeable medical students would become knowledgeable doctors, who could reach countless patients in the future.
What were some of the challenges you faced in this process and how did you overcome them?
- Given that our primary audience was fellow medical students, we wanted our writing to be the right mix of engaging, accessible, and informative. We felt it was imperative for future clinicians to engage rigorously with medical, legal, social, and ethical information on abortion—the latest data, the highest-quality articles — and to distill the most salient points in a sea of misinformation.
- We overcame these obstacles by conducting an extensive editing process. The booklet underwent multiple rounds of peer editing before receiving feedback from physicians and educators, which ultimately ensured that our booklet was comprehensive, accurate, and engaging. It was a labor of love, but well worth the wait.
How did you approach coalition-building, and how did this coalition and the booklet shape your idea of medical student advocacy?
- Following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, several MSFC chapters in NYC came together with the idea that as medical students we can and should advocate for a more equitable and just future. We formed “MSFC NYC”, a local coalition of medical students working together to support abortion education access. Being from different medical schools, we could combine the diverse perspectives, resources, faculty relationships, and physician networks from across our institutions, which augmented our ability to enact change. We knew there was strength in numbers, and were determined to work together towards our goals.
- As part of this collaboration, we had two goals: 1) collectively fundraise for abortion access in the month of August 2022, and 2) develop and broaden abortion education throughout NYC. By spreading the word with our medical schools, friends, and family members, we collectively raised $20,105 to support two abortion access organizations: the National Network of Abortion Funds and The Brigid Alliance, both of which strive to remove financial and logistical barriers to abortion care.
- On the education front, despite 25% of pregnancies ending in abortion worldwide, abortion is starkly absent from medical school curricula with half of all medical schools in the US giving no formal training in abortion or only a single lecture. To start to address these education gaps, we developed our abortion education and access booklet. At the same time, we also met with abortion providers around NYC, hosting several talks across our NYC schools on a series of abortion topics including medical-legal partnerships in a post-Roe era and abortion in marginalized populations. We even hosted a tabling event in a park in NYC where we shared our fundraiser with the greater public and spread knowledge on MSFC’s abortion education and advocacy efforts. Most recently, our collaboration has been working with legislatures to draw support for recent bills that allocate funds for OB GYN residents in abortion-restrictive states to receive training on abortion in NYC and develop shield laws for NYC providers sending abortion pills into restricted states.
- With these examples of advocacy through our MSFC NYC teamwork, we hope that our coalition-building efforts inspire other MSFC groups to recognize the power of collective action and create tangible progress within our communities. During this unprecedented time for abortion access in the US, medical students can play an important role as advocates to support our future patients and protect their rights to reproductive health care, including abortion.
The MSFC NYC coalition collectively raised $20,105 to support the National Network of Abortion Funds and The Brigid Alliance.
How can other medical students use our booklet?
- We wrote this booklet to provide all medical students with reliable, accessible abortion education that honors its complex sociopolitical history. Ultimately, we hope to equip our readers with the understanding that abortion is a foundational, essential part of reproductive healthcare and the tools to support anyone in need—be it their patients, their friends, or themselves. We hope this book can be shared widely by our medical student peers as the fundamental abortion information documented in it can be helpful for all individuals.
- While our guide did focus on accessing abortion in our local New York City community, we believe that it can and should be adapted in other places, informed by local restrictions. All medical students, regardless of where they attend, deserve comprehensive abortion education—and until there is a national curricular standard for abortion education, student-developed tools like ours can help bridge the gap. That is why we are so thrilled to be part of the international MSFC community, which allows us to forge connections with chapters across the US and the world to work collectively around advancing reproductive justice.
Students of the MSFC NYC coalition at fundraising event.
By Felipe on December 22nd, 2022. Posted under: 2022, Blog Post, News and Views
The education medical students receive should not be limited by where they attend school. MSFC student leaders utilize their organizing power to increase access to reproductive health care and become the best providers possible. Check out the videos below to learn about the different methods of abortions care that medical students are being trained to perform.
As we go through the holiday season, we are thankful for all abortion providers and pro-choice physicians. Please consider a donation to MSFC and help us protect abortion access by training the providers of tomorrow.
By Felipe on December 19th, 2022. Posted under: 2022, Blog Post, Featured Article
Sara Sotiraks, Ciara Black, Sara Bocchinfuso, and Madeline Chidiac of Trinity College Dublin developed a student survey that could potentially identify gaps or inconsistencies in family planning curricula and teaching in Ireland. Read this interview to learn how they developed this project, and for tips to help MSFC members initiate similar successful projects.
How did this go from a school-wide project to a country-wide project?
We initially submitted the proposal to the School of Medicine and the heads of the OBGYN department. From there it got passed on to the General Practice department, which led to the addition of two 2-hour seminars on Termination of Pregnancy and LGBTQ+ healthcare. The lecturers who delivered these seminars approached us with the idea to replicate the survey we did across all of the medical schools in Ireland. We have developed the student survey further from our initial one, with slight modifications and additions to the questions. We are also going to survey staff as well, to map out what teaching is currently taking place, find out what challenges they may have faced in implementing such teaching, and to compare the staff perspective on the curriculum with the students.
What could this study mean for medical schools across Ireland?
This study could potentially identify gaps or inconsistencies in teaching across the country. If this is the case, it could provide the evidence base and framework for standardized curriculum enhancements to be made in every school, to ensure graduates from each school in the country are receiving the same curriculum content.
Do you find that having med student support increases responsiveness from admin?
Yes. Showing that these changes are wanted by a large majority of current students by using real data collected from these students strongly supports the need for urgent changes.
What were some of the challenges you faced in this process and how did you overcome them?
Initially the challenge was lack of response from the school. We received communication that the proposal will be considered, but were not given any clear timeline or action plan for when/how this would be done. We continued to follow up with the school and were assured that a curriculum review was underway, and that departments had the freedom to modify/add content if they wish. Once we got to our General Practice module, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that the proposal resulted in some positive change! Our school’s curriculum review is still underway (this process takes place every 10 years or so) and we have received word that the proposal will be included in the upcoming curriculum revisions.
What advice would you give to someone looking to start a similar study in their region?
A few things:
- Look into getting ethics approval if you want to administer a survey, so that you may have the option to publish the findings.
- Find staff members to support you. They are a great connection to have and can provide advice/guidance through the ethics application process. If you are applying to your school’s ethics committee, you also may need a staff supervisor.
- Target your sample population. We surveyed students from all years. This was great for the opinion section of the survey, to find out what teaching students from all years would like to see, but for the portion of our survey which assessed the current curriculum it was challenging for students in the early years to comment as they would not have had teaching in these areas yet or know what teaching they are due to receive later on. Figure out what your survey focus is and target your survey population accordingly.
MSFC believes that abortion and family planning training should be a standard part of all medical school curricula. Visit our Curriculum Reform webpage to learn more about how chapters have successfully advocated for the inclusion of abortion and reproductive health education into their curricula, and to find resources to support your chapter’s work.
School of Medicine at the University of Dublin, Trinity College
By Felipe on June 24th, 2022. Posted under: Blog Post
It’s official. The Supreme Court of the United States has overturned Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey.
We are as outraged and heartbroken as you are. While we have been actively preparing for this moment, it’s never easy to see the government take human rights away from millions of people. Unfortunately, this will not be something we can quickly fix through federal legislation. But at MSFC, we know that our members and supporters are the leaders we need to organize our way through this. We have some action steps that you can take today to help us fight to increase access to abortion education, ensuring that medical students in the United States have the opportunity to continue receiving education and training in abortion and family planning.
Step 1: Write to Your Medical School: If you are a current or former medical student, your voice is crucial in this conversation, and the medical school you attended is more likely to listen. Email development@msfc.org for a template you can send to your dean, asking them to publicly declare their intention to keep abortion and family planning education accessible to all medical students.
Step 2: Seek Trusted Sources: During these challenging times, reaching out and sharing accurate information is essential. We recommend the Center for Reproductive Rights and Rewire.News for fact-based analysis of this decisions.
Step 3: Become a Monthly Supporter: Our work will require sustained action and even more resources, with tailored guidance based on specific restrictions in individual states. To help us continue to support medical students facing unprecedented challenges in the US, please consider becoming a monthly supporter. Even a small monthly gift is helpful, and MSFC staff will work diligently to ensure your money is continuously activated to maximize impact.
Although we strongly object to the Supreme Court’s decision, we find inspiration in the words of MSFC’s founder, Dr. Jody Steinauer, “Everyone can play a part in making it easier for people to serve their communities as abortion providers.” While activists work to build a movement that supports the human rights of all people, Medical Students for Choice will continue to educate and train future physicians and ensure future access to care. We will continue to be in touch in the weeks to come.
In solidarity,
Pamela Merritt
Executive Director, Medical Students for Choice
By Felipe on May 30th, 2022. Posted under: Blog Post, News and Views
What made you want to start a regional website on abortion access?
The University of Washington School of Medicine has 6 campuses across the 5 state region, Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, and Idaho. Students do clinical rotations throughout the region and are exposed to differences in healthcare access across this region. Abortion access in particular varies dramatically. Seattle, for example, houses many clinics with options for second trimester abortion care; the rest of the region is quite rural, forcing patients to travel far distances to access care or utilize telemedicine and medication abortion by mail options.
With rapidly evolving abortion legislation and the prospect of Roe v Wade being overturned, communities across our region will feel the effects of new abortion restrictions very differently. We wanted to create a resource medical students and other providers can use throughout the region to understand local laws and resources in order to support patients seeking abortion care. The site includes the basics about abortion care and resources patients can turn to as they consider all of their pregnancy options. Because each state has its own abortion laws, our state profiles outline the legal landscape, insurance information, and local resources. The website also includes tools for providing inclusive care with pages on gender-affirming abortion care, trauma-informed abortion care, teen-friendly reproductive care, and more.
We know medical students provide valuable care to patients and we hope sharing this resource empowers our peers to become advocates for abortion care in medical school and beyond. Check out our site at www.pacificabortion.org.
The Pacific Abortion Project’s website.
What were some challenges in building the site and how did you overcome them?
We decided a website would be the best format for this resource to allow easy updates, but most of us didn’t have any experience creating one. We spent some time researching different platforms and eventually settled on WordPress because it was the cheapest and relatively easy to use. Learning how to build the website took some getting used to and thankfully we had team members who were interested in website design.
Building the content itself was another challenge. We gathered a team of 11 students across the 6 campuses and met regularly to decide the content, delegate who would write which pages, and traded content to review several times before we actually uploaded the pages. The work was all done remotely so students across the region could contribute. We then sought feedback from other students and providers and are adjusting the website accordingly.
We are more than happy to provide guidance for other students who want to create their own website and they can reach out to students@msfc.org to be put in touch with us.
How do you think working with students from other states impacted the website?
Working with students across the our region expanded the range of information and experiences represented on the website. Each student suggested topics to include from their own observations of challenges unique to their home state. Together, we filled in the potential knowledge gaps in providing abortion care so our final website would be useful for providers across the region. Collaborating also created a sense of solidarity during a difficult and fractured moment in abortion policy and rhetoric across our country. It was a huge comfort to know that students from every corner of our five state region cared intensely about ensuring abortion access in their communities. We were able to process our anger and grief together and channel those emotions into our project.
How do you hope the website impacts people in your region?
With the recent news about SCOTUS likely overturning Roe vs Wade in the ruling of the Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization case, we anticipate an exacerbation of the existing disparities in abortion access across our region. In states like Wyoming and Idaho, it is likely abortion will be banned almost entirely if Roe is overturned. When this happens, it will be even more essential that healthcare providers are informed about their patients’ rights and options for abortion, regardless if they are able to provide abortion in their home states. For example, providers will need to know how patients can access medication abortion by mail or how to call an abortion fund to help fund travel to another state. Providers will also serve a critical role in providing non-judgmental, compassionate guidance to patients seeking abortion care who will be facing powerful stigma and fear. We hope this website will be a tool providers can use as they navigate these uncertain times and serve as advocates for patients in their communities.
What are some tips you would share with others interested in building a website for their region?
Invite students from across the region to collaborate on the website. If your region includes multiple states, try to make sure you have at least one contributor from each state. We also were able to include general information about abortion counseling, advocacy, inclusivity etc. that was not region-specific in part because we had so many collaborators with unique interests. Reach out to departments within your school and to local organizations to see if they’d be interested in featuring your website on their lists of resources for providers or students.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed and hopeless as we face terrifying changes in abortion legislation. As medical students, our voices serve a valuable role in advocacy for our patients and communities. You have the power to confront fear and stigma with truth and to share the resources within your community that will continue to make abortion possible.
