Shoot the Abortionist Twice: the Crisis in Abortion Training in the United States

The purpose of the paper is to examine where and how abortion training takes place throughout medical education in the context of a current shortage of abortion providers in the United States. The study was conducted using internet search engines Scopus, Academic Search, History of Science and Technology,and OVID, with keyword searches including abortion, medical education, residency training, and family medicine. Personal interviews were also conducted with leading abortion educators and researchers. The paper addresses the training of potential abortion providers, during medical school and residency education in obstetrics and gynecology and in family medicine. Through an examination of where abortion providers practice in the United States, how medical professionals gain exposure to abortion throughout their education, and how the medical community addresses the matter, this paper demonstrates how the omission of exposure to this prevalent procedure throughout medical education contributes to the shortage of abortion providers in this country today. For all women in the U.S. to have equal access to full reproductive healthcare, more physicians must be trained in abortion care. Moreover, as the sole primary care providers in much of the country, family physicians are best equipped to resolve the shortage