A New Semester and New Members  

By Felipe on August 21st, 2024. Posted under: 2024, Blog Post, Featured Article, News and Views

The fall semester begins! Now is the time to welcome new members, revitalize our chapters, and deepen our commitment to reproductive health education. Whether you are an Experienced Student Leader (ESL) or new to Medical Students for Choice (MSFC), the upcoming months promise a variety of opportunities for learning, advocacy, and growth.

Welcoming New Members

A new semester brings new faces, fresh perspectives, and boundless enthusiasm. At MSFC, we are thrilled to welcome new members passionate about reproductive rights and health. Joining MSFC means becoming part of a community dedicated to education, advocacy, and support.

For those new to our chapters, there are many ways to get involved:

• Many chapters host events and clinical training sessions at the start of the semester. These are great opportunities to meet current members, learn about our mission, and find out how you can contribute. MSFC provides Event Resources for personalized event planning help with chapter events and workshops.
• We offer various training sessions and workshops equip you with the knowledge and skills to advocate for reproductive health. Our workshops are interactive and engaging; providing a platform for students to ask questions, participate in discussions, and learn from experts in the field.
• Get started in participating in local advocacy efforts, engaging in campus outreach, or contributing to curriculum reform. There are numerous ways to make your voice heard as a future abortion provider.

Arkansas MSFC welcoming first-year medical students during the Interest Group Fair

Enhancing Our MSFC Chapters

Existing members play a crucial role in helping our chapters thrive. Your experience and knowledge are invaluable in mentoring new members and leading initiatives.

Here are a few ways you can help strengthen our chapters:

• Experienced Student Leaders offer mentorship to new members by sharing their experiences, providing guidance, and helping them navigate their involvement in MSFC.
• You may consider becoming an MSFC Chapter Leader at your campus. Your leadership can significantly impact in your medical journey and curriculum.
• We also work with other reproductive health organizations and groups to broaden our reach and amplify our message. Collaborative efforts can lead to innovative projects and stronger advocacy networks.

Family Planning and Reproductive Health Education

This semester, we are committed to engaging more students in workshops to advance their skills in reproductive health care. These workshops are designed to provide comprehensive, evidence-based information on a range of topics, from contraception and abortion care to advocacy and policy.

Don’t forget to register for the 2024 Conference on Family Planning – Bridging Divides, Sparking Connections: The Power of Community! This year’s conference will be held in Denver, Colorado on Saturday, December 7 – Sunday, December 8, 2024. Registration opens on August 26 and closes on October 28, 2024. MSFC welcomes our members, alum, and colleagues to join us as we meet in person to engage with the pro-choice community and spark new connections to bridge divides in reproductive health, equity, and justice through medical student education, training, and advocacy.

How to Get Involved with MSFC

Contact Your Local Chapter: Find out about events and meetings happening on your campus. Email our Student Organizing team and we will help you get connected to an existing chapter or start one at your medical school.

Follow Us on Social Media: Follow what future doctors are doing to protect and expand abortion access. And stay updated with our latest news and events.

Visit our Website: Explore resources, upcoming events, and more information about MSFC.

We look forward to a productive and inspiring semester ahead. Welcome to the new semester with Medical Students for Choice!

Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Roundtable

By Felipe on February 13th, 2024. Posted under: 2024, Featured Article, News and Views

Last week, MSFC members Danna Ghafir and Natalie Givens joined medical and undergraduate students across the country to participate in a virtual roundtable discussion with the United States Secretary of Health and Human Services, Xavier Becerra. The roundtable on reproductive health and justice was organized to commemorate the 51st anniversary of the Roe v. Wade decision and offer an opportunity for student advocates to share their experiences and ask the Secretary questions.

Danna and Natalie are medical students in restrictive states Texas and Georgia. Their experiences with a lack of access to abortion training were amplified by similar stories from the medical students who attended the roundtable. Danna shared that in Texas, abortion education has been highly variable between medical schools. As an Experienced Student Leader for Texas chapters, Danna engages with chapter leaders across the state to understand the status of abortion education at their schools. Some medical schools offer lectures dedicated to abortion and complex contraception, the existence of which is often the result of student-driven curriculum reform efforts made possible with the support of MSFC resources. Meanwhile, other schools have little to no mention of abortion care in their didactic curricula, and these students rely on external learning opportunities, like MSFC’s virtual lectures and the Reproductive Health Externship program offering training in other states.  

Natalie shared with the Secretary her experience as a medical student in Georgia, where abortion is banned after detection of embryonic cardiac activity, which usually occurs around 6 weeks gestational age. Her school gave a lecture on abortion care during her didactic years. To get more experience, Natalie recently asked to shadow an abortion provider who helped at an MSFC event. The provider declined, saying that because of the current Georgia law, abortion patients have much more fear, and having a medical student shadowing in the room could erode the patient’s trust in such a vulnerable situation. Medical students from restrictive states shared stories similar to Natalie’s, expressing their concern that states with restrictive abortion laws have, on average, higher maternal mortality rates and fewer maternity care providers¹, yet medical students are disincentivized to pursue OB-GYN residency training in these states due to potential limitations in their education. 

The spectrum of educational opportunities around abortion care in US medical schools is broad and unstandardized. Currently, the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) does not include any requirements for abortion education or training in their curriculum standards. According to their website, “The LCME is recognized by the U.S. Department of Education and WFME as the notable authority for the accreditation of medical education programs leading to the MD degree.” When asked if the Department of Health and Human Services is collaborating with the Department of Education to standardize abortion education and training in medical schools nationwide, the Secretary responded that they do not currently collaborate with the DoE on this matter, but that they recognize the concerns students brought up regarding this issue. A collaborative effort between the two regulatory bodies could ensure that all medical students have access to the information required to understand evidence-based abortion care practices, and we call on both departments to address this pressing concern.

MSFC has an ongoing petition to the LCME to include abortion training in Undergraduate Medical Education.  An excerpt of the petition is below:

As medical students and trainees, we are asking the Liaison Committee on Medical Education (LCME) to include abortion learning objectives and options counseling within the accreditation requirements of each medical school. Currently, the LCME requires that medical school curricula include each organ system, each phase of the human life cycle, continuity of care, and preventive, acute, chronic, rehabilitative, and end-of-life care; however, it does not include any reference to abortion training. 

 As a medical community and medical education training community, it is the responsibility of the LCME to hold medical schools accountable for providing comprehensive and patient-centered medical education. Healthcare is paramount over any political agenda, and the LCME should be able to defend medical education against policies that endanger the health of our patients.

We were very thankful to be invited to attend the roundtable and have the opportunity to share our experiences with Secretary Becerra and HHS staff members. The discussion ended with Secretary Becerra giving heartfelt thanks to all medical students and undergraduate reproductive health advocates in attendance for their perseverance and vulnerability in sharing their stories.

Reference

Eugene Declercq et al., The U.S. Maternal Health Divide: The Limited Maternal Health Services and Worse Outcomes of States Proposing New Abortion Restrictions (Commonwealth Fund, Dec. 2022).

Shaping the Future: Empowering Medical Students for Reproductive Healthcare

By Felipe on October 26th, 2023. Posted under: 2023, Blog Post, Featured Article, News and Views

Hello, I am Gaston Ndagijimana, a third-year medical student at the University of Rwanda, and an active member of MSFC Rwanda. MSFC stands for Medical Students For Choice, and I am part of the Huye Chapter. In this blogpost, I’ll share my experiences and insights from the MSFC East Africa Regional Meeting, held in Kigali, Rwanda, on the 26th of August 2023.

About the MSFC East Africa Regional Meeting

Every two years, medical students from the East African region come together at the MSFC East Africa Regional Meeting. This meeting serves as a platform for students to discuss critical topics related to Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) and exchange expertise. It equips students with the knowledge and skills needed to become future leaders in the field of comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including safe abortion care.

Activities at the Regional Meeting

1. Panel Discussions: The meeting featured panel discussions where experts, healthcare providers, activists, and students shared their perspectives and knowledge on SRH. These discussions were invaluable for gaining diverse insights and ideas.
2. MVA Safe Abortion Simulation Training: One of the highlights for me was the MVA Safe Abortion simulation training. It provided me with practical skills and knowledge in safe abortion care through interactive learning and hands-on activities.
3. Networking and Collaboration: The event facilitated networking and collaboration opportunities with both international and local participants. Building professional relationships is vital for advancing our common goals.
4. Keynote Presentations: We had the privilege of listening to representatives from MSFC chapters across different countries. They shared the achievements and operations of their chapters, which were both inspiring and enlightening.

Making a Difference in Reproductive Healthcare

These activities play a pivotal role in advancing reproductive healthcare rights and access. Panel discussions and training equip students with the knowledge and skills to be champions of comprehensive reproductive healthcare. Networking enhances collaboration, which is crucial in advocating for improved reproductive healthcare services.

Overcoming Challenges

Challenges are an integral part of such conferences. Language barriers and logistical issues were among the challenges. However, these challenges were overcome through teamwork, patience, and adaptability.

Impact on Healthcare Services

The knowledge and skills gained from the conference will undoubtedly have a positive impact on both patients and students. As future healthcare providers, we are better equipped to provide safe and comprehensive reproductive healthcare services.

Advice to Students Interested in establishing an MSFC Chapter at their Medical School

Gaston Ndagijimana, third-year medical student at the University of Rwanda.

For students interested in starting an MSFC chapter at their medical school, my advice is simple: be passionate, persistent, and collaborative. These qualities are essential for driving positive change in the field of reproductive healthcare.

In conclusion, the MSFC East Africa Regional Meeting was a transformative experience. It equipped us with the knowledge, skills, and motivation to be advocates for reproductive healthcare rights and access. Together, we can shape a future with universal access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Rights, comprehending safe abortion.

Thank you for joining me on this journey to empower medical students for reproductive healthcare.

Accessing Abortion in NYC: A Guide for Medical Students, by Medical Students

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.

Our Essential Work Continues

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. 

The Pacific Abortion Project

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.

2022 Virtual Abortion Training Institutes

By Felipe on April 29th, 2022. Posted under: News and Views

This unique educational opportunity offers medical students the opportunity to learn about abortion from family planning experts in a small group virtual environment using independent learning, interactive lectures and sessions, and self-paced hands-on training simulation.

The virtual ATI program primarily covers medical and surgical abortion in the first trimester, and includes a values clarification session, advocacy session and a provider panel. Faculty is recruited regionally to allow medical students to engage with current abortion providers who have familiarity and experience with the unique challenges of providing abortion care in their geographic area. Accepted students receive an MSFC training kit with supplies to practice MVA (manual vacuum aspiration) techniques.

Admission is application-based and highly competitive as space is limited. Only 15 medical students will be accepted per session. Applicants  are encouraged to apply for the Virtual ATI session scheduled for the geographic region where their medical school is located. Due to COVID-19 shipping related constraints, only medical students currently residing in the United States are eligible to apply at this time. Priority will be given to first and second year medical students with very little or no access to abortion training on campus or offsite.

2022 Virtual ATI dates

Why should you attend?

In 2021, 55 medical students representing 46 medical schools throughout the US attended MSFC’s Virtual Abortion Training Institutes. 92.5% of medical students who attended identified that they found the Virtual ATI to be very useful and found that they were more knowledgeable on first trimester medical and surgical abortion and products of conception than prior to attending the session. Among the reasons medical students found the Virtual ATI to be very useful were:

• The ability to practice and learn in a small group environment.
• The chance to speak openly and candidly with other pro-choice medical students in a safe space.
• The presenters were knowledgeable and the MVA hands-on simulation provided the ability to learn clinical skills with real equipment.
• Abortion providers were willing to be candid about their experiences and shared how different geographical regions change the provider’s experience.

Many medical students identified having a clearer sense of their own personal reasons for becoming an abortion provider and a better understanding of the pathway to abortion provision. Those who attended gained clinical knowledge and hands-on skills that they could now share with their peers.

Visit this page for more information, or email meetings@msfc.org if interested in applying.

Curriculum Reform Advice From Two MSFC Leaders

By Felipe on March 17th, 2021. Posted under: 2021, News and Views

We asked two student leaders some of our most common questions about curriculum reform. This was their advice.

Becca is an MD/PhD student at Ohio State University in the United States. Julius is a medical student at Kabale University in Uganda. Responses have been edited for clarity.

Do you need help with curriculum reform? See our resources or email students@msfc.org.

Illusion of Choice

By Felipe on June 05th, 2020. Posted under: News and Views

As a medical student rotating through one of the largest public safety-net hospitals in the nation, I often witness the intersection of social injustice and health in communities, particularly communities of color. Racism, capitalism, housing instability, wealth inequality, lack of comprehensive health insurance, lack of child care, mistrust in the medical system secondary to systemic racism, incarceration, inequitable food access, and immigration status are only a few of the systemic, structural factors that affect health care access and health outcomes. Throughout my clinical experience and extracurriculars in reproductive health, I have seen how these intersecting factors shape access, available “choices” for my patients, and the delivery of comprehensive reproductive health care. Reproductive health “choices” are inextricably tied to systems of power such as racism and capitalism that dictate what is accessible to my patients, making choice an illusion.

I question whether “patient-centered care” can exist when impacts of larger structural forces prevent provision of the care our patients need and desire. What does comprehensive pregnancy or contraception counseling look like when our patient’s options are limited by their socioeconomic context? For my uninsured patients who desire LARC (long-acting reversible contraception), how can I offer them the full spectrum of contraceptive or pregnancy options? When working with my first patients seeking contraception while unemployed, uninsured, and/or low-income, I documented these issues in their social history. However, these aspects of my patients’ lived experience directly restricted patient autonomy and choice, and the care I was able to offer them in that moment. For example, patients would tell me LARC would best fit their needs, and I would call other clinics and providers across the county to learn about sliding care options or financial assistance. Costs ranged from hundreds to thousands of dollars, which is unaffordable for my patients; economically coercing them into settling for a different form of contraception.

After these experiences, I considered how medical training can improve by both acknowledging these systemic factors exist and teaching students how to address them in the patient care setting. While we are trained on contraindications to contraception and abortion, how can we be comprehensively trained on the structural context in which our patients’ access is embedded? How can our history-taking improve to capture how broader systems of power impact our patients’ choices and their health outcomes? How can we ensure our patients have access to the reproductive health services they want and need and not just what is afforded to them because of racism and capitalism?  As my patients shared their social histories, I remember my empathetic statements like “that must be hard” or “I’m sorry” only making me feel better and not changing my accountability to my patient’s story. I craved more tools in my medical education toolkit to serve my patients’ needs, and expand reproductive access and choice as basic human rights that are not allocated to you based on manufactured structures of power. Our education must expand past question banks and practice tests that oftentimes utilize social qualifiers as proxies for specific medical diagnosis, and as buzzwords to ignorantly guide students to a diagnosis. I must actively relearn how systems of oppression are inextricably tied to my patient’s health outcomes and options and how to responsibly mobilize against those systems.

Truly providing “patient-centered care” means ensuring equal and affordable access across the full-spectrum of contraceptive and pregnancy options. As a medical student and future provider, I have social power to foster partnerships with and uplift the work of community organizers, and integrate them in the delivery of my patient care. I aim to cultivate radical partnerships deeper than conveniently collaborating to increase attendance at a school-sponsored health fair, clinic, or event. Through community events I’ve attended, I’ve learned how various social injustices have health consequences for my patients. I’ve also seen how communities come together to provide healthcare and healing outside of the medical system. Perhaps it’s time to redefine what it means to be a healer or health-care provider, surrender our power, and offer opportunities for community healers to form partnerships with us and for us to prioritize and uplift their work.

Throughout medical school, I have seen time and time again how my patients’ access to reproductive health care is not a function of individual choice, but rather an illusion of “choice” produced by systems of oppression and inequity. These systems contribute to the stark disparities in reproductive health care access across the country, further demonstrating the pathogenic role of social and economic injustice. As I pledge to “first, do no harm” as a future physician, ignoring these systems would have serious health implications and cause harm to my patients. Reproductive health access and reproductive choice cannot be separated from the broader context of inequity in which they are embedded. The reproductive justice framework that centers reproductive rights within the context of structural oppression and promotes radical coalition building must be prioritized by reproductive health providers. Reimaging the illusion of choice means we must move beyond our silos of medicine to organize to dismantle structural racism, capitalism and systems of oppression that afford choice to our patients both at our institutions and in our patient’s communities.

—

Acknowledgements: I would like to thank Dr. Sarah Stumbar, Chris Garcia-Wilde, Julie Heger, Ryan Schooley, and the MSFC Staff for helping with the edits and for their perspectives as well as my patients who shared their powerful stories with me and have had a profound impact on my understanding of the intersection of medicine and social justice. I also would like to acknowledge the work of the group of Black women who called themselves Women of African Descent for Reproductive Justice in the creation of reproductive justice in 1994. I want to thank reproductive justice organizations and activists for tirelessly advocating to dismantle systems of oppression and prioritizing the intersection of reproductive health and social justice. Finally, I would like to thank MSFC for providing me with tools, hands on experiences, and educational resources related to abortion and contraceptive care to further my medical education.

What If There Are No Doctors? A Different Perspective on Kavanaugh and the Possible Loss of Legal Abortion

By Felipe on October 10th, 2018. Posted under: 2018, News and Views

On Saturday, the US Supreme Court gained a clear majority of members prepared to overturn nearly 50 years of legal abortion in the US. No matter how you may feel about the new Justice himself, the balance of the Court will negatively affect reproductive justice for years to come. The impacts of future Supreme Court decisions will be broad, and one of those impacts will be fewer doctors able to perform abortions.

Our colleagues at the Center for Reproductive Rights predict that 22 states will lose legal abortion if Roe v. Wade is overturned or gutted. Unfortunately, 80 medical schools are in those 22 states. So what will it mean when all the doctors graduating from all those medical schools have no medical knowledge or skills related to abortion?

Unless we start working now to nurture medical professionals trained and willing to provide safe abortions, regardless of whether abortion is legal in their states, the loss of a qualified medical workforce will greatly worsen the loss of legal abortion for those who seek it. It will also exacerbate the consequences for those that, in desperation, seek unsafe abortions.

Prior to the Court’s legalizing abortion in 1973, some doctors provided safe abortions to patients despite the possible legal consequences because they were compelled by their conscience and compassion for those they served. The unfortunate experiences they had caring for hundreds of thousands of women in hospitals suffering from unsafe abortions gave them the skills they needed to safely provide this care. Today, the loss of education and training that would result from overturning Roe would leave large areas of the US, within just a few years, with few doctors trained to provide…and those doctors will be aging.

I was in high school when the Court legalized abortion in the US. The Roe decision didn’t just pop up out of nowhere. It came after years of dedicated effort to change the way abortion was viewed by the American public, an effort that led to the liberalization of abortion laws in 17 states prior to the Court’s decision. Today, we are facing another long period of effort focused on preventing access to abortion from sliding back too far and then pushing the pendulum back toward a saner, safer view of abortion access.

Physicians, and all medical professionals, will be critical to that effort because they will be on the front lines in the fight to maintain access to safe abortion, and where that is no longer possible, to save the lives of those suffering from unsafe abortion. Medical Students for Choice is at the center of the effort to ensure that medical students have an opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge, and to nurture the courage needed to facilitate care for the most vulnerable.

MSFC is uniquely positioned to do this with chapters at 158 medical schools in the US. MSFC members are active in every region and almost every state including Alaska and Hawaii. More than half (85) of MSFC’s US chapters are in politically conservative states. These are states, such as Texas and South Dakota, with legislatures determined to limit access to abortion and eager to eliminate access to abortion entirely if Roe’s protections are taken away. Having directly experienced the many impacts on access coming out of their states’ legislatures over these past years, our members are well aware that Roe’s protections cannot be taken for granted. Helping their patients get to clinics that may be hundreds of miles away has become commonplace for many of our members in these states.

Abortion knowledge and skills are essential for doctors because they are the same skills they will need to help those suffering from unsafe abortion. The devastating injuries and deaths resulting from unsafe abortion happen everywhere, worldwide, in places without access to safe, legal abortion. Without physicians with the knowledge or skills in abortion, women will unnecessarily die or suffer long-term injuries. That’s a fact.

MSFC is not sitting by and waiting to respond to those horrifying outcomes. We are preparing every chapter in those 22 states to fill the educational needs for their fellow students and supporting our chapters’ involvement in both institutional and state-wide advocacy campaigns. We have a plan and we have already begun to implement it.

As difficult as these times are for all of us who care so deeply about equity and social justice, working with young people who are passionate about these issues is a real privilege. I know that thousands of MSFC members will help push the pendulum of change back toward care and compassion. And although many MSFC chapters will be directly affected by any US Supreme Court changes to legal abortion, many are also in states where abortion is expected to remain legal. As a community, we will pull together to ensure that interested students from poor access states will be able to seek education and training elsewhere. Our hundreds of abortion-providing alumni are already stepping up to support students in states like Arizona that prohibit abortion education in their state schools.

Hope, persistence, and a vision of what we want our world to be like will carry us through these challenging times. We can only hope that reason will prevail in our courts and legislatures, but with a relatively young majority on the Court that opposes the Roe decision, we have many years of hard work ahead of us. MSFC already has changed, fundamentally, the way that the medical profession views abortion and family planning. As we move forward from here, I know that regressive values cannot stand long against the hundreds of MSFC members graduating from medical schools each year.