What training to be a doctor taught me about abortion care in America
What training to be a doctor taught me about abortion care and women's health care in America post the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade
I never set out to become an abortion provider, but somewhere along the way to becoming a physician, it became necessary.
I spent many of my formative years in conservative Indiana, where one of my closest high school friends, a devout evangelical Christian, introduced me to pro-life rhetoric. I was still figuring out my own religious and political beliefs on the matter. She often invited me to anti-abortion demonstrations, but after quiet deliberation, I would decline. I didn’t have the vocabulary to articulate why.
I spent many of my formative years in conservative Indiana, where one of my closest high school friends, a devout evangelical Christian, introduced me to pro-life rhetoric.
Over a decade later, I am an OB-GYN in my last year of residency in Washington, D.C. As part of my training, I have learned how to treat women’s medical needs and guide them through reproductive choices. For me, being an OB-GYN means being a safe space. In this office, we talk about intimate partner violence, financial concern, fears about motherhood, breastfeeding, sexually transmitted infections, gender identity and sexual partners. Nothing is off the table, including abortion.
Here in our nation’s capital, abortion is legal and protected, yet it remains difficult to access for Washington’s most vulnerable patients. With the overturning of Roe v. Wade, I have been reflecting on my role as a physician for women and the implications this ruling will have on health care across the country. Importantly, when I began my training as an OB-GYN, I, like many Americans, had very little understanding of what abortion care looks like.
https://www.nbcnews.com/think/opinion/training-doctor-taught-abortion-care-america-rcna40338
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