Oregon Public Broadcast
How the Dobbs decision has affected medical students and residency programs in Oregon, US
Synopsis
The fear and confusion caused by overturning Roe v. Wade has created a crisis in medicine. OB-GYNs are leaving states with abortion bans, scared to work in a place where they could go to jail for providing care. The same is true for medical students and residents.
OPB’s Think Out Loud host Rolando Hernandez talks with the OB-GYN residency director and a chief OB-GYN resident at the Oregon Health & Science University about how medical students are avoiding states with abortion bans. They worry about the downstream effects this will have on the quality of care patients will be able to find — both in states with bans and those without.
The crux of the situation is that it’s not sustainable at some point. We can’t have physicians leaving the states to just leave these patients high and dry.
Leitaea Lowrimore went to three ERs in two states in the middle of a medical crisis. No one would treat her.
Kishaya Holloway is an artist in Arkansas. She never questioned her decision to have an abortion, only the barriers that made it difficult to access care.
