Help Us Protect Access to Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Today!
Aug 25
I did two abortions this morning (among other procedures) in our neighborhood family health center. The first was a 25-year-old professional woman who came in with her best friend, having been referred from her boutique practice that does IUDs but not abortions. She was pregnant with an IUD in place and had texted me yesterday evening,…
Jun 23
Clinicians who provide abortion care often do not work in the areas where the need is greatest. This work can be difficult, no matter where you live. But it is hardest on those who live in areas where the laws aren’t supportive, where no one speaks about abortion openly, and where abortion is highly stigmatized.…
Mar 10
March 10 is Abortion Provider Appreciation Day. Abortion providers often face misunderstandings about the work they do and the environment they work in. To show our appreciation for abortion providers we are addressing one such abortion myth. At a recent organizational retreat RHAP’s Medical Director, Linda Prine, MD, fielded the following challenging question: “Do primary care clinicians…
Feb 25
Findings from our annual survey of family medicine residents trained in abortion care have just been published in the Journal of Family Medicine. Here are our key findings: Training in abortion in family medicine residency leads to intention to provide. There is a dose-response relationship for training to intention to provide manual vacuum aspiration (MVA) and…
Aug 14
Dr. C. is an abortion provider in Buffalo, NY and a member of our Family Medicine Reproductive Health Network. He has chosen to speak anonymously to protect himself and his family. We recently asked him what moves him to provide abortions and this was his answer. It’s simple. I provide abortions because it is basic…
Jul 22
Linda Prine, RHAP’s medical director, moderates the Access List, a clinical listserv with more than 1,000 subscribers all dedicated to providing abortion care within family medicine and primary care settings. This regular column features Linda’s postings to the Access List. At our recent Reproductive Health Access Project gathering at Society of Teachers of Family Medicine…
Jan 22
As the national organizer for RHAP, I have the privilege of working with some of the most amazing activist physicians in the country. I am constantly reminded of the commitment and perseverance it takes to provide abortion care in so many places. A sterling example of this persistent dedication is Dr. Julie Johnston. I first…
Jun 24
When I give a presentation about the abortion services we provide in our family medicine clinic, people often ask, “Do you have a counselor to meet with your patients to help them?” I’m a bit put off by this question. I want to say, “It’s my patients with a new diagnosis of diabetes or high blood…
Apr 16
I work once a week at a high volume abortion site. When I’m there I often don’t have the chance to have much of an interaction with the patients in the minute or so that I see them before the anesthesia takes effect. But the other day, I had a quick conversation that really stuck…
Dec 12
It’s often difficult for doctors who received abortion training while in residency to integrate the service once they are in practice. They face many barriers including resistant staff members, malpractice costs, and the need for additional clinical training. An experienced mentor can be helpful in developing strategies for overcoming these barriers. Each spring the Reproductive…