As part of Strong Families’ “Mama’s Day Our Way” celebration, our physicians contributed essays on the topics of motherhood, teen parenting, abortion, and reproductive justice.

Leadership Training Academy Fellow Dr. Rebecca Trotzky-Sirr published a piece on Feministing called “For the Mamas Who Don’t Get Love on Mother’s Day,” about her experiences as a teen mom, and how they differ and align with other teen parents’ experiences:

Medicine and mothering intertwine in my life. My kid entered kindergarten the same week I started medical school. As a mom and a doctor, I am thrilled that I am able to work toward a world where all women and kids are supported and celebrated. Motherhood should be a fair choice, not a forced choice.

Read the rest of Dr. Trozky-Sirr’s essay here.

Our former board member and Leadership Training Academy alumna Dr. Pratima Gupta published a piece on Raw Story about being a mother, an abortion provider, and a woman who has had an abortion:

As an abortion provider, I know abortion rhetoric too often ignores the complexities of real women’s lives. Choosing adoption, ending a pregnancy, or raising a child is a personal, often complicated and emotional decision. But one thing is pretty simple: that decision is better left to a woman and her family. I know this firsthand.

Read the rest of Dr. Gupta’s essay here.» Read More

Leadership Training Academy Fellow Dr. Stephanie Sober published a letter in the Philadelphia Inquirer about recently passed state-level abortion restrictions that could force women to travel long distances to get safe, legal abortion care:

I have seen firsthand how difficult it can be for women to access basic health care services, which include abortion, because of such restrictions. Recently, a patient of mine had to travel six hours, two days in a row, to get the care she needed because of Pennsylvania’s 24-hour waiting period. She was extremely lucky to get time off from work and obtain child care, but many other women are not so fortunate.

Dr. Sober’s letter is the second on this page.» Read More

March 10 is the National Day of Appreciation for Abortion Providers. March 10 is the day in 1993 when David Gunn, MD, was murdered by an anti-choice extremist. To honor the courageous doctors who who provide this much-needed service and to fight the stigma surrounding this safe, legal medical care, members of our current Leadership Training Academy class share their stories of why they provide and why they support their colleagues who provide.

Human rights. Equality. Justice. These are the utopian ideals that sum up why I provide abortions.

As a medical student, several of my colleagues spoke disparagingly of abortion and vowed to never talk to a patient about having one, much less provide. I was appalled…and motivated.

I spent a rotation my last year of medical school as an assistant in an abortion clinic. The women I saw came from every imaginable background. I held the hands of physicians, teachers, administrators, students, mothers, nurses, and they held mine. Some cried, some told me their story; all were relieved to have someone to talk to. Now in my fellowship I have met the same kind of women I met as a medical student: many amazing, strong women making difficult decisions for the well-being of their families, their children, themselves.

Why do any of these women face less compassion and dignity, and more judgment and legislation, than any other patient? No one has been able to answer this question--not in medical school, not in residency, and not in the awful rhetoric on posters, websites, and billboards--because there is no justification. And that is why I provide.

—Frances Casey, MD, MPH
Washington, DC

I never questioned whether or not I would provide abortions--it was always a given. As an obstetrician-gynecologist, I see abortion as another part of the comprehensive care that I can provide my patients. My conviction in my work as an abortion provider grows daily as I witness the hardships women must overcome to access this service and as I listen to their stories. I am strengthened by their gratitude, yet dismayed that so many seem to expect to be judged or mistreated. No one ever expects or plans to have an abortion – an obvious statement, yet one that appears to be lost on so many today. It is never a decision made lightly, but rather is incredibly complex and individualized. It is also a decision that cannot and should not be made by anyone other than the woman herself with the support of her physician. Because of this I remain determined to not only provide abortion care, but to speak out on behalf of these women, to train others to provide, and to stand in solidarity with my colleagues.

—Amna Dermish, MD
Salt Lake City, UT

As a physician specializing in adolescent medicine, I do not provide abortions myself--but I fully support my colleagues who do this brave work and I don’t know what we would do without them. Because of them, I can offer a scared teenager facing a seemingly powerless situation the solace of knowing that she has options.» Read More

Leadership Training Academy alumna Jenny Robinson, MD, MPH, submitted testimony to the Maryland House Judiciary Committee in support of House Bill 829, which prohibits the use of any physical restraint on pregnant women in correctional facilities during labor, delivery, and recovery:

Shackling a pregnant woman in labor is not only painful and inhumane, it is dangerous. During labor and delivery, it is possible for related emergency situations to arise….This is about assuring patient safety and providing quality health care to all pregnant women, including women who are incarcerated.

Read Dr. Robinson’s full testimony here.» Read More