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Ipas's winter issue of Because magazine is out now.

Ipas

March 10 is the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. Abortion providers make reproductive choice possible for American women and often offer critical support and care. Yet the number of doctors and clinicians able to perform abortion procedures or administer abortion medication is declining, making access to an essential health-care service increasingly difficult. Lack of federal funding and adequate training in medical school are significant contributors to the dwindling number of providers, as is increasingly aggressive social and religious stigma toward abortion providers. 

The new issue of Because magazine, which highlights issues surrounding reproductive health around the world, devotes an article to the shrinking pool of abortion providers in the United States.

“I’m pretty sure that very few kids grow up thinking, ‘When I grow up, I want to be an abortion provider,’ but I do think that a lot of people can imagine wanting to be a doctor so they can help others," says Shannon Connolly, medical student training to become an abortion provider

Abortion is the most common medical procedure women aged 15-44 undergo in the United States. Yet medical schools do not discuss abortion care in class nor do they train students to perform the procedure. Megan Evans, a medical student training to become an abortion provider, says that the real barrier to abortion access “is the lack of training provided by medical schools and residency programs.”  “The attitude [toward] abortion needs to change in medicine,” she adds. Medical students thinking of becoming abortion providers are on their own when it comes to learning about abortion care. Those who are interested in learning or talking about abortion on campus often receive little support from school administrators and even face threats from anti-choice groups. Organizations like Medical Students for Choice (MSFC) or Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health (PRCH) recognize the need for abortion training and provide funding and support to medical students.

Medical students deciding to become abortion providers must also wrestle with the real risk of an increasingly aggressive anti-choice movement. Connolly says she hadn’t really weighed the risk to her safety until the violent death of Dr. Tiller, an abortion provider who was murdered at his church in May 2009 by a radical anti-choice activist. “I’d never really thought about things like, ‘Will I need to wear a bulletproof vest? What will I need to do to protect my family? What kind of a security system will I need in my house?’ I worry a lot that these types of considerations will discourage current medical students and residents from providing abortion care.” Many abortion providers choose to practice anonymously, providing first-trimester abortions under the umbrella of a general or gynecological practice. Few providers loudly affirm their involvement in women’s abortion care.

The absence of abortion providers means that some women will need to travel long distances to receive care, adding travel costs and additional stress to the experience. Since the average cost of an abortion is around $400, some women may find the total cost of the procedure prohibitive. If the number of abortion providers continues to decrease, it will become increasingly difficult for women to access care. And obstacles to access most often result in unsafe abortions, which threaten women’s lives and health.  “Women who cannot access abortion care are taking matters into their own hands,” says Miranda Balkin, a medical student who plans to become an abortion provider.

Students like Balkin will help to fill the shrinking pool of providers — without them, women’s health and rights suffer.

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For more information, contact media@ipas.org