Medical Students for Choice

"Most medical and nursing education programs do not teach abortion care; providers who want to provide abortions to patients often have to find, coordinate, and fund their own training opportunities at independent clinics—like a self-organized medical rotation," said Latona Giwa, executive director of Repro TLC, in this op-ed. "And as more of these independent clinics close, these training opportunities dwindle."

After working as an organizer for years, Allie Lahey-Seratt went to nursing school to provide abortion and gender-affirming care. “Unless your school is very committed to teaching you [these skills], I don’t know how else people are learning [them],” Lahey-Seratt said, adding that her on-the-job training “actually gave me an opportunity” to learn.

No matter where future providers train, they deserve access to comprehensive reproductive health education. Nonprofit organizations like Medical Students for Choice, Nurses for Sexual and Reproductive Health, TEACH, and the Reproductive Health Access Project are working to fill sexual and reproductive health training gaps.

Who Will Train The Next Generation of Abortion Providers? Independent abortion clinics do much more than provide abortions. They also train the next generation of women's health providers. Now, these clinics are closing across the country.

Four years later, patients are being denied the care they need and providers are working within an increasingly restrictive landscape.

Patients and providers deserve better than this. We're fighting for a future where everyone can access the care they need. 💜 And let's be clear: Roe was never enough. People were already facing barriers to abortion care long before Dobbs.

⚖️ What medical students need to know: The legal status of abortion varies by state and is constantly changing. Access MSFC's Safety Considerations Post-Roe event guide to have safety measures in place for your events. You can always reach out to your chapter’s Student Organizer for more assistance in creating safety plans: https://msfc.org/medical-students/event-resources/

💙 What supporters can do: The need for abortion access remains urgent. If you're able, consider donating today to help support the training needed for the next generation of abortion providers and the advocacy efforts that expand access to care for those who need it most: https://msfc.org/about-us/giving-to-msfc/