Abortion Policy and the Future of Medical School Education

I was in Weiler Hospital, shadowing two attending internists, when I learned of the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. I felt saddened, nearly sick to my stomach, but not the slightest bit surprised. Undoubtedly, this new decision will impact those most vulnerable: BIPOC women, women of low socioeconomic status, young women. It will also impact future physicians like myself, who enter this field to help others, but now must choose between their ethics and their livelihood.

Abortion is healthcare, and as medical students, it is our job to learn all we can about medical care so we may provide it to those who need it most. The overturning of Roe v. Wade will undoubtedly hinder the clinical knowledge and understanding of the next generation of physicians.

With nearly 1,000,000 abortions performed each year in the U.S. (Guttmacher Institute), it is one of the most common surgical procedures received by women. Abortion not only allows women to plan their own life and family in a way they envision for themselves, but saves women from the negative, and sometimes deadly consequences, of ectopic pregnancies, pregnancy from rape, incest, and more. Therefore, it is crucial that any comprehensive reproductive health education includes abortion education. 

However, studies now show that the expected proportion of obstetric and gynecology residency programs with access to abortion training will drop from 92% to at most 56% post overturning of Roe v. Wade (https://medicalxpress.com/news/2022-04-obstetrics-gynecology-residents-wont-abortion.html). It is most likely that these physicians will then go on to practice in a state that will allow them to perform abortions, resulting in a shortage of providers in states that restrict reproductive healthcare. Inevitably, the overturning of Roe v. Wade will serve to further exacerbate health disparities amongst communities that are already marginalized.

It is most imperative that medical schools move to standardize and mandate abortion education throughout the nation, both via their curriculum and national board exam requirements. Even in schools existing in states with access to legal abortion, such as Albert Einstein College of Medicine (AECOM) in New York, the curriculum falls short of what is needed to sufficiently educate students on abortion. With just one lecture in AECOM’s curriculum dedicated to abortion techniques and family planning, one can only wonder what information on abortion, if any, is being shared with medical students located in more conservative states. Academic standardizations would work to ensure all medical students across the U.S. are equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to understand various abortion methods, indications, and management.

But medical students cannot just stop there. We must use our knowledge to advocate for reproductive rights and healthcare, so that all women can have the freedom to choose and all providers can have the freedom to practice medicine the way it was intended: to help the patient first, regardless of one’s religious or political viewpoints. Every patient should have the right to make medical decisions for themselves, and it is our duty to protect this right as future physicians.