State of the Union underscored the stakes for future OB-GYNs

Advocates for expanding abortion and reproductive health services are celebrating a rare win: Opill, the country’s first over-the-counter birth control, is available starting this month. Even as anti-abortion extremists continue chipping away at essential reproductive services like abortion and in vitro fertilization, the Biden administration and the Food and Drug Administration are committed to expanding and protecting reproductive health care.

This month, I had the honor of attending the State of the Union as the guest of my congressman, 3rd District Rep. Bobby Scott. As a medical student graduate and future OB-GYN, I was one of many reproductive health care advocates in the gallery who were moved by the clear support for the right to make decisions about our own health and families. From the Democratic Women’s Caucus donning white for reproductive freedom to President Joe Biden’s commitment to protect IVF and to reinstate the federal right to abortion if reelected, the support was radiating.

I feel a renewed sense of hope because elected officials such as Scott are listening to the voices of future physicians like me.

Alabama’s recent Supreme Court ruling threatening the future of IVF was heavy news for my classmates and I to process. We are taught to provide the best possible care, but barriers to reproductive health care make this increasingly difficult and undermine the integrity of physicians who must witness the consequences firsthand. These decisions were not made in consultation with medical professionals, but rather by anti-freedom politicians who use their personal ideologies to restrict our choices for family planning.

Many conservative politicians who push abortion restrictions expressed their outrage over how the IVF ruling would affect people’s ability to start a family. While these legislators profess backing for IVF, they have thwarted federal legislation twice, thereby preventing the realization of these vital protections.

As a future OB-GYN, it will be my responsibility to ensure that my patients have autonomy over their reproductive health. Whether choosing contraceptives, ending a pregnancy, administering fertility treatments or planning for delivering their baby, I want to counsel patients through their options, provide compassionate, comprehensive care, and work together to decide the best path forward. Providing this level of care becomes nearly impossible if I cannot refer my patients to IVF clinics or perform abortions because of legal restrictions. I hate thinking I would have failed them as a doctor.

I decided not to apply to any residency programs in states where abortion is banned because I wouldn’t be able to provide the full scope of reproductive care. I would miss out on essential medical training for abortion care, and I am not alone in this decision, as OB-GYN residency applications have decreased by 10.5% in states with abortion bans. All patients should be trusted to make their own decisions on what is best for themselves and their families, but if faced with provider shortages and abortion bans, they will not have these freedoms.

In his State of the Union address, Biden implored us all to “look at the chaos that has resulted” from former President Donald Trump’s role in the overturning of Roe v. Wade. That chaos has trickled down from the Supreme Court to doctors offices, pharmacies and classrooms nationwide. Patients feel this uncertainty, and as a doctor, it will be my responsibility to advocate for my patients and help them make the best decisions for their lives.

I was proud to sit among the many abortion advocates and storytellers at the State of the Union. Our presence demonstrates the commitment of progressive members in Congress to protecting birth control, abortion and IVF while anti-abortion conservative extremists continue their attempts to eradicate our right to bodily autonomy. The stakes could not be higher for the next generation of doctors and the future of reproductive health.