March 10 marks the tenth annual National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. This day honors all the dedicated medical professionals who have continued to provide abortion care for women in the face of inflicted violence and constant harassment. I would like to publicly thank our providers for their heroism, perseverance, and commitment to making reproductive choice a reality for women.
We are facing a severe shortage of providers, with 87 percent of U.S. counties lacking an abortion provider. About half of those who continue to provide care are approaching retirement age. Medical education is only perpetuating this problem with inadequate reproductive health training. I was astounded to learn that a number of UW medical students find learning about contraception \offensive.""
That's only the beginning. An unnamed student shared his disgust with an advertisement for a medical-student-produced Vagina Monologues.
Are these future physicians prepared to provide reproductive health care, or least make the appropriate references? This is absolutely unacceptable. Patient care is the number one priority.
The members of Medical Students for Choice, including myself, are working to change medical education and training. Our group is dedicated to ensuring that the next generation of physicians will be able to provide women with the full range of reproductive health services, including access to safe abortion care.
Nichole Mahnert
UW-Madison Medical student
