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Abortion stigma affects doctor's training and choices

September 1, 2009
Sandra Boodman, Washington Post

When Devin Miller, leader of the abortion rights group Medical Students for Choice at Virginia Commonwealth University, heard about the slaying of George Tiller, a Kansas physician who performed late abortions, she "took a step back" to ponder her future. The second-year student plans to become an obstetrician-gynecologist or family physician and expects she would sometimes terminate pregnancies. But the May 31 death of Tiller, who was shot in the head at church, allegedly by an antiabortion activist, has left the 23-year-old deeply shaken.

"I think for a lot of students right now, it's very hard to be confronted with the constant negative energy and constant fighting" that surrounds abortion, said Miller, who grew up in a southern Virginia city where antiabortion sentiment runs high. Just learning about the procedure at the state school in Richmond can be a challenge. Medical students who want training in the procedure usually must arrange an elective "externship" in Northern Virginia, she said.

• Read the complete article.

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