SPOTLIGHT ON ABORTION CARE & REPRODUCTIVE JUSTICE
Stay Connected – to Resources, Community, and Radical Hope for Reproductive Freedom and Justice
– through the AMSA Reproductive Health Project!
Written by Jeff Koetje, MD, AMSA Reproductive Health Programming Strategist
Greetings from all of us at the AMSA Reproductive Health Project (AMSA RHP)! With the start of the new academic year well under way, we are excited to share with you what we have planned for 2024-2025. But before we get into that, let’s pause to acknowledge that we are just a few days away from Election Day here in the US (Tuesday, Nov 5), and this year, reproductive rights are a central issue in the federal election and abortion rights, specifically, are on the ballot in 10 states. We encourage everyone who can, and everyone who is eligible, to get out and vote if you haven’t already, and we encourage you to invite your friends and family to do the same! We know that regardless of the outcomes of the imminent elections and ballot initiatives, the work of protecting and advancing reproductive health, rights, and justice must continue.
Who we’re for and what we’re about:
We also know that future physicians – that’s you! – have important roles to play in the movements for reproductive freedom and justice. And we’re here to support and help you figure out what that can look like for you. The AMSA Repro Project – and AMSA, overall – invites reproductive freedom dreamers and doers, like you, to consider us as one of your home bases for relevant and timely information, resources, connections to a growing network of activated medical and premedical students, and spaces for organizing for collective action. We work to nurture and support the next generation of physician abortion providers and the next generation of physician-advocates for reproductive health, rights, and justice. We are here for you – whether you are a premedical or medical student AMSA member, an AMSA Chapter Officer, or an AMSA National Leader!
Read on to learn more about the AMSA RHP and how you, your AMSA chapter, or your school can get involved.
First things first – Some introductions! Who we are:
The AMSA RHP team includes Becky Martin, who is, as she says, “one of those old-school community organizers” who brings a unique perspective to our work. She got her start working to expand education and licensing programs for midwives in Florida and then around the U.S. A deep concern and care for pregnant and birthing people has been at the core of Becky’s lifetime of advocacy, activism, and organizing. She has a deep appreciation for history and what we can learn from our past – she knows we all stand on the shoulders of giants. And having worked with AMSA for over 20 years from allied organizations before joining AMSA staff, Becky knows many of AMSA’s giants personally. Becky reminds us medicine is both art and science, and how we grow our healers is vitally important. As AMSA’s Senior Manager for Reproductive Health Advocacy, she helps AMSA’s members, Chapter Officers, and National Leaders think and plan strategically for mobilizing future physicians for action on abortion access and reproductive healthcare equity. Dr. Jeffrey Koetje is a medical professional focused on transforming the systems and culture of education and training inside the House of Medicine. Utilizing critical theories such as intersectional feminism, queer theory, and Critical Race Theory, Dr. Koetje works to create transformed and transformative medical education, grounded in an absolute belief that spaces for education can and must be spaces for young people to more closely encounter and get to know their own power, agency, and capacity to be change-makers. The Project also works closely with Dr. Aliye Runyan, who is an OB/GYN abortion provider in the NYC area, and former AMSA Education and Advocacy Fellow, National Graduate Trustee on the AMSA Board of Trustees, and AMSA Reproductive Health Programming Strategist. Two medical students also will be joining the AMSA Repro Project this year: Joy Udoh, M4 at Michigan State College of Osteopathic Medicine, will be the AMSA Reproductive Health Project Fellow, and Araam Abboud, M3 at Boonshoft School of Medicine will be the AMSA Reproductive Health Project Intern. Joy and Araam will be introducing themselves in the next issue of this newsletter.
What we offer:
As a grant-funded project, we are able to offer an abundance of support to you, your AMSA chapter, your school, and your community in the form of informational resources, connections to subject matter experts and activists for chapter events, interesting and compelling films to view and discuss, clinical skills workshops, advocacy skills workshops, and several programs you can enroll in, including our Abortion Care & Reproductive Justice Institutes back in-person! (Read what a student from this summer wrote about his experience: Recharging Your Medical Passion: The Power of a Retreat . We also offer small chapter grants ($200 – $500) to cover food/beverage costs for AMSA Chapter events planned in coordination with the AMSA RHP! We can even help chapters with new member recruitment by providing AMSA RHP swag for tabling events and a limited number of free memberships for students who participate in RHP-sponsored chapter events!
We’ll highlight many of the RHP offerings here, but be sure to check out all the details posted to the AMSA RHP webpages, and keep up with all the updates and opportunities by reading the AMSA Repro Health & Justice eNewsletter. Sign up to start receiving the newsletter, delivered to your inbox every other Saturday – and catch up on what you’ve missed by reading current and past issues!
New & Expanded Offerings for AMSA Members & Chapters from the AMSA Abortion Care & Reproductive Health Project
Clinical & Research Skills:
- Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA, or “papaya workshop”)
- What Would You Do? Values Exploration & Clarification
- Pelvic Exam Best Practices Workshop
- Trauma Informed Abortion & Reproductive Health Care
- Self-Managed Abortion: A Safe Option for Many (SMA)
- Contraception Counseling & IUD Insertion
- Pregnancy & Abortion Care Options Counseling
- Understanding Mandated Reporting: What Is & Is Not Required
- Designing & Presenting Compelling Research Projects
Advocacy, Organizing, & Networking Skills:
- Effective Communication about Abortion Care: What & How We Talk Matters
- Lifting Your Voice: Writing Compelling LTEs,OpEds & Blog Posts
- Building Relationships with Reproductive Freedom Champions in Your State
- Understanding How Bills Become Laws & Regulations Govern Physician Practice
- Translating Data & Research Findings into Policy Recommendations
- Finding & Sharing Change-maker Stories in Your Community
Issue Education Teach-Ins:
- The History of Abortion: Roots of Stigma, Opportunities for Change
- Abortion as a Moral & Social Good: The Ethical Basis for Conscientious Provision of Abortion Care
- Religious & Spiritual Affirmation of Abortion
- Men & Abortion – Feminist Frameworks for Male/Masc Abortion Rights Allies
- Fetal Personhood & Criminalizing Pregnancy: Fast Tracks to Gilead
- Physicians as Enforcers: Urine Drug Screens, Mandated Reporting & Criminalization of Pregnant People
- Anti-abortion Laws & Maternal Mortality: Turning the Tide
- Birth Justice – A Framework for Improving U.S. Health Outcomes by Uniting Physicians, Midwives & Doulas
- Reproductive Justice: A Movement & Framework for Equitable Health Care
Expanding Conversations with Film
Films offer unique ways to share information, generate conversations and move people to action, especially around difficult or challenging topics facing our communities. The AMSA RHP shares film access and provides expert speakers for facilitated, interactive conversations with AMSA members and Chapters. This year we are expanding our film offerings and focusing around key topics starting with:
- How Stories Move People & Foster Change
Ours to Tell, a short documentary film featuring several abortion stories - Informed Consent: Vital for Patients, Students & Providers
At Your Cervix, a documentary film about medical education and unconsented pelvic exams on anesthetized patients - Forced Sterilization: What is it & How it is Still Happening?
Belly of the Beast, a documentary film about the forced sterilization of women incarcerated in California’s prison system - In the Time Before Roe: Lessons from Our Not too Distant Past
The Janes, a film that tells the story of underground abortion providers in Chicago who cared for over 11,000 women in the years before Roe - Moral Injury, Burnout & Suicide Among Physicians & Trainees
Do No Harm, a documentary film that shines light on the crisis of medical student and physician suicide along with the toxic issues and environments far too many are facing today
***Everything listed above can be organized into an AMSA Chapter event!***
Courses and Programs:
- AMSA Abortion Care and Reproductive Justice Institutes
Add your name to the waitlist for first dibs on registration - AMSA Reproductive Health & Justice Mentorship Program
Learn more and sign-up for the Winter 2025 Repro Mentorship Sprint (Jan/Feb 2025) - AMSA Reproductive Health Scholars Program
Our next offering will be Fall 2025, add your name to the waitlist for first dibs on registration - AMSA-UM Elective in Abortion Care, Family Planning, and Reproductive Justice
Explore the program description here, our next offering is planned for Fall 2025.
Essay Contests, Poster Presentations & Scholarship Opportunities:
- Repro Poster Presenter Scholarships
Apply for a scholarship to present your abortion and repro-related poster at the 75th Annual AMSA Convention in Washington DC April 17-19, 2025 – Learn more at FP4change.org - Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice Essay Contests
Stay tuned for details coming soon!
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*Note: an excerpt of this Spotlight is included in AMSA Reproductive Health Project eNews #31: Say Their Names, Get Connected, Stand for Change, Nov 2, 2024
Find the current and past issues in the AMSA Repro eNews Archive.
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