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MSFC Update - April 2004
Freedom is one of this country’s fundamental tenets. I have become increasingly aware of how fragile this promise is while pursuing my medical education. While on a rural health rotation on a northern Arizona Indian Reservation, I was privileged to be present during two births, practically simultaneously. Both women had been laboring in the tiny Labor and Delivery ward all day. As the medical student, I helped monitor their progress and helped coach them through their labor. Finally, after hours of eagerly awaiting my first delivery, both women went into active labor at the same time. I ran between rooms, changing gloves mid-stride. In addition to all of the commotion of delivering two babies at the same time in a hospital that rarely delivers more than one baby a week, these women’s situations were even more complex. One woman was delivering her ninth child; the other was a 13-year-old young woman delivering her first child. The contrast between these two ends of the spectrum was stark, but these women had one thing in common — their freedom of choice was denied. While reviewing these patients with my attending, I discovered that the doctors providing care to these women — and to all of the other women on the reservation — were not permitted to discuss the option of abortion with their patients. I cannot say what these women would have chosen if all of their options had been presented to them, but I do know that they should have been the ones to decide. While back in the city and volunteering at Planned Parenthood, I met a woman in search of this country’s promise of freedom. This patient had traveled here to Tucson from Mexico because there was not an abortion provider near her home. After having to explain to the border patrol guards why she wished to enter the country, she finally made her way to the clinic. After the procedure, the doctor was concerned about the patient’s follow-up care and requested that she return to the clinic in two days. The patient explained that it would be impossible for her to cross the border again in two days. She left the clinic, leaving me to speculate about what may have happened to her. Abortion is a very safe and uncomplicated procedure if women have the appropriate medical care. Because this woman did not have access to an abortion provider near her home, what should have been a routine procedure and follow-up appointment became a potentially harmful situation. With the support of Medical Students for Choice, I am working to ensure that women like her — no matter where they live — will be guaranteed access to trained providers and quality reproductive health care. Together, we can fulfill the promise of reproductive freedom for all women. Jaime Michaelson is a second-year medical student
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