Medical Students react to a push to require abortion training in medical curricula
Three medical students from the University of Illinois College of Medicine recently published an article in support of mandating abortion training for all medical students.
Campus Reform spoke to other medical students who came out against the idea of a mandate on abortion training.
Three medical students from the University of Illinois College of Medicine recently published an article claiming that there exists an “ethical obligation to have a fundamental understanding of abortion care in order to care for and counsel our patients.”
The article, titled, ‘Abortion Care Is Healthcare and Must Be Included in Medical Curricula,’ argues for the requirement of abortion training for all medical students.
“By failing to educate medical students on abortion, the medical institution effectively contributes to the continued politicization, restriction and stigmatization of abortion care in the U.S,” the article reads.
[RELATED: Medical student wants more curriculum on abortion. Here are the reactions.]
The three medical students compare the lack of abortion knowledge in the field to how the lack of knowledge in other fields would be unacceptable.
“We would never allow an internist to treat a patient’s diabetes without understanding the physiology; sexual health should not be any different.”
The medical students also argue that doctors should be prepared to discuss the ethics of abortion in order to objectively care for patients seeking to discuss the subject.
“Without adequate education and training, our nation’s doctors are woefully unprepared to have nuanced discussions on the ethics of abortion on a national stage, and lack the knowledge required to objectively care for patients desiring to discuss abortion as an option.”
Campus Reform spoke with medical students who disagree with the push to include abortion provision in medical curricula.
University of Arkansas Pre-med student Eva Allen told Campus Reform she does not support the concept of an abortion training mandate for medical students.
“Scientists are allowed to have their own opinions, but they are also supposed to be able to look at things objectively and realistically,” Allen told Campus Reform.
“That being said, I do not think it would be useful or necessary to allot abortion education more time than any other medical topic just to fit a progressive agenda of destigmatizing it,” Allen added.
Misericordia University medical student Kelsey Richmond told Campus Reform that she “believe[s] they are taking it a little far.”
“People do have very strong views on the topic, and I do not believe they should be forced to learn a procedure that feels morally wrong for them,” said Richmond. “If you want to learn it to do it for patients, great, but no one should be forced.”
Campus Reform reached out to the University of Illinois College of Medicine for comment but did not receive a response.
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