As an abortion provider, I want to thank Rachel Roth for “What future for reproductive rights?” (WomanNews, Feb. 23), on the increasing obstacles American women face in trying to access reproductive health services.
One of the greatest obstacles for women seeking abortions is simply finding a doctor. There is a severe shortage of doctors providing abortions–86 percent of counties in the U.S. do not have a single abortion provider.
Abortion is one of the most common outpatient surgical procedures among U.S. women. Each year more than a million women have abortions. Despite this need doctors emerging from medical schools and residency programs are not being trained in the procedure. Medical Students for Choice 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 safe abortion care. Abortion is not simply a political controversy, it is a critical public health issue and medical procedure and must be included as a standard part of medical education. We want to ensure that the memories of the last generation of physicians–of botched and self-induced abortions–do not become the reality of the next generation.
