Roundup: Have Violence and Threats Scared the New Generation of Abortion Providers?

Jun 16, 2009, 10:54am

Have Violence and Threats Scared the New Generation of Abortion Providers?; Scott Roeder's Hearing Postponed; Third-Year Medical Student Plans to "Emulate Tiller"

Have Violence and Threats Scared the New Generation of Abortion Providers?
A Salon.com article
discusses the lack of abortion education in American medical schools.
In the article, a New England OB-GYN named Carolyn talked openly about
the one hour of elective abortion education she received from an
anti-choice professor.
Carolyn told Salon.com,

"Instead, the doctor gave false information about California state laws
regarding abortion — "she pulled [laws] from other states and acted as
though they were nationally valid" — and promoted long-debunked
anti-choice myths like "abortions cause breast cancer" to a roomful of
medical students. She then told the class stories about how she’d
counseled some of her own patients against abortion, including one
woman who sought an abortion elsewhere and didn’t return to this
doctor, her primary care physician, for over five years. "I don’t think
she understood what she was saying — that she had alienated and
effectively failed her patient," says Carolyn. "That was in March of
’05, and I’m still angry."

Medical Students for Choice (MSFC)
is an organization that seeks to improve the availability of
reproductive health education in medical schools. Lois Backus, the
group’s executive director, told Salon.com,
"Medical school is a fairly closed world, and many, many medical
students do very little education in family planning or abortion. The
majority of medical schools have a small curriculum exposure to oral
contraceptives, but family planning as a broader issue is not covered
in a comprehensive way."

Scott Roeder’s Hearing Postponed

The Associated Press reported that the judge overseeing Scott Roeder’s hearing, which was originally scheduled for Tuesday, has postponed it. Roeder, 51, charged with the murder of late-term abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, is being held on $2 million bond. A new date has not been set, but Sedgwick County Judge Warren Wilbert said attorneys told him they expect the hearing to take place in two weeks.

Third-Year Medical Student Plans to "Emulate Tiller"
Rozalyn Farmer Love, an Alabama medical student, broke through her
Christian, anti-choice upbringing and now plans to provide abortions as
part of her work as an obstetrician-gynecologist.
On Alternet.org, she wrote:

"I’m a third-year medical student at the
University of Alabama at Birmingham. I plan to become an
obstetrician-gynecologist. I dream of delivering healthy babies,
working with families and supporting midwifery. But as part of my
practice, I also envision providing abortions to women who need them."

Rozalyn wrote about how her background in psychology, women’s studies
and sociology broadened her knowledge of the importance of accessible
and safe abortions.

"I began to feel as if I were leading a double life. At school, the
choices I saw women struggling with were forcing me to question my old
convictions. When I went home, I’d go to church with my parents but
would find that my views contrasted starkly with those I heard in the
sermons. It was a difficult time, because I felt that neither my family
nor my church would welcome my questions or understand my
struggle…For the most part, I don’t talk to my parents about those
beliefs. They already feel as though I’ve turned my back on much of
what they taught me because my husband and I bought a house and lived
together for a few months before we were married. Two and a half years
later, that rift isn’t fully healed. I know that my views on
reproductive rights would be another blow."

Although Rozalyn has not participated in an abortion, she has received training through Medical Students for Choice,
an organization that seeks to improve abortion education in medical
schools. She says she will choose a residency program that provides
further training.

OTHER NEWS TO NOTE:

June 16: Optimum Population Trust Blog: Unintended Births on the Rise Amongst Young Nigerian Women

June 16: Baxter Bulletin: Abortion really isn’t about health

June 16: Moo News: YAZ Birth Control Maker Develops World’s First Natural Pill

June 16: Catholic Exchange: Are Canadian Catholics Unwittingly Funding Abortion in Latin America?

June 16: OneNewsNow: Sotomayor rooted in abortion rights

June 16: AP: Hearing remains in limbo in Kan. abortion shooting

June 16: Massachusetts Republican: Abortion rights leader remains active

June 16: Boston Globe: Caritas insurance plan calls for state scrutiny

June 16: Catholic Online: Common Good Requires Legal Protection of the Unborn

June 16: California Catholic Daily:"Stop funding the abortion industry in California!"

June 16: MetroNews Ottawa: When birth control falls short