abortion services are unavailable in 86% of US counties... below is from Medical Students for Choice... Michael Hoover
"Why is abortion, the most common surgical procedure among U.S. women, not given more than a few sentences in all medical school courses combined?"
One of the greatest obstacles to safe, legal abortion today is the absence of trained providers -- and yet a new generation of providers is not being trained.
According to a 1996 study, only 7% of all abortions are performed in hospitals, where most medical students and residents are trained.
Only 12% of U.S. ob/gyn residency programs required routine training in first-trimester abortions.
A 1992 study revealed that 47% of chief residents in ob/gyn programs had never performed a first-trimester abortion.
Although U.S. medical schools provide training in standard obstetrics and gynecology services, most provide little, if any, training in abortion. Just as every woman must have the option of whether or not to terminate pregnancy, future physicians must have all the training they need in order to make their own choices about the kind of health care they will provide.
What MSFC Is Doing In early 1995, the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME) decided to require all ob/gyn programs to include abortion as a routine component of their training. Anti-choice lawmakers are trying to reverse this decision by stripping the ACGME of its power to regulate professional medical standards for training. So, women's access to safe abortion by qualified practitioners continues to be at risk.
The 1995 ACGME decision was the successful culmination of MSFC's first national effort -- lobbying for abortion training requirements for ob/gyn residents. Since then, we have continued to work -- both with other national groups and with students around the country -- to encourage schools and residency programs to add training in abortion.
We have recently published a resource guide to abortion training in ob/gyn residency programs. Based on results from a survey which MSFC and the National Abortion Federation (NAF) conducted, the guide includes information on which programs offer both 1st and 2nd trimester training and whether or not this training is required or optional. All ob/gyn residency programs in the U.S. were surveyed. If you are interested, please contact the National Office.
Medical Students for Choice, msfc at ms4c.org.