When Roe v. Wade was quashed last month, access to abortion became illegal or insecure in nearly half the country.
And with it access to abortion care training has become incredibly difficult for medical students and residents. For many of those who plan to perform abortions as part of their medical career, they will have to go to great lengths to learn the necessary skills.
Medical Students for Choice is one of many programs across the country that help these students connect with clinics. The work has always been difficult, as it can involve sending students away from their hometowns for hours and coordinating transportation and housing. But now the work is even more difficult.
“We had to tell 50 medical students that they wouldn’t be able to get in-clinic training this year simply because the clinics are overwhelmed, and, you know, universities are scrambling to try and save their residency programs,” said Executive Director Pamela. Merritt.
Medical schools are not required to offer abortion training. And while residency programs are required for accreditation, the quality and intensity of the training varies. One estimate shows that nearly 40% of residency programs do not provide routine access to abortion training.
Just as people in some states had to travel for hours or across state lines to clinics to get an abortion, many aspiring physicians have had to do the same. Now they have to travel further.
“It really can be like flying across the country,” said Kristin Simonson of the Ryan Residency Training Program, which helps hospitals implement OB-GYN curricula.
Not only that. Students and residents of states that restrict or ban abortion may not be able to learn how to perform abortion at all, because lawmakers could restrict abortion training in state-funded public hospitals and schools.
“If their residents are considered state employees, if faculties are considered state employees, but then they teach medical students,” Simonson said, “I think there are a lot of questions — a lot of questions with no answers.”
Limited education can lead to unprepared or unprepared doctors, especially in states where abortion is limited to rare circumstances, such as when a mother’s life is in danger.
“I fear that, you know, in a field where repetition and volume are the key predictors of confidence and competence in any procedure, that competence and that confidence will suffer,” said Dr. Kavita Vinekar, an OB-GYN professor at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Acquiring that competency can become a higher priority for students. “I think this is a big concern for many, many medical students,” she said. “And it’s going to play a big part in how they sign up for programs.”
And where to apply for a residence permit.
“It’s actually one of the first things I’m considering applying for,” said Ian Peake, a fourth-year medical student.
Peake only looks in states like California, which has moved to protect abortion. This was not his original plan; he has always wanted to help patients in his home state of Oklahoma, where abortion is now illegal, except to save a pregnant person’s life or if the pregnancy is the result of reported rape or incest.
“It’s very disturbing to know that I have to leave my house to pursue this or drop it altogether if I want to stay at home,” he said. “It’s like, that’s the decision you’re kind of left with.”
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