(LifeSiteNews) — According to a new report in the medical publication MedPage Today authored by investigative writer Amanda D’Ambrosio titled “Physicians Are Abortion Patients Too, Study Shows,” a study recently released in Obstetrics and Gynecology indicates that approximately one in 10 doctors have reported that either they or their intimate partner have had an abortion.
The conclusion of the study (which can be found here, behind a paywall) states, “Abortion is not uncommon among physicians and maintaining access to abortion care is critical to support reproductive autonomy in the physician workforce.” To reword that conclusion: Abortion is necessary, in the view of the study’s authors, for doctors to have successful careers.
D’Ambrosio’s report focuses on fourth-year medical student Shira Fishbach, who is currently studying at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine. According to Fishbach, she had an abortion in the summer of 2017 when she was on the verge of starting a postgraduate program with an eye toward getting into medical school.
As D’Ambrosio put it, “She had just begun her pre-med requirements when she decided to take a pregnancy test — and got a positive result.” (This rendering makes it seem as if Fishbach took a test totally at random, but presumably she had engaged in the baby-making act, which caused her to suspect the potential presence of a baby in the first place.)
Fishbach admits that she had an abortion simply because a child would interfere with her plans. “The minute I found out I was pregnant, I knew that my family was going to be emotionally and financially supportive no matter what I chose,” Fishbach told MedPage Today. “Still, I never quite imagined myself being in that position.” She opted for the abortion, an experience she said was “overwhelmingly positive,” with MedPage Today noting that her “providers made her feel empowered in her decision.”
Fishbach was effusive in her praise of both the abortionist and the abortion itself. “I felt a connection between my having an abortion and my ability to pursue my own education, to have economic freedom, to live my life the way that I wanted to. It felt like they were literally handing me that gift.” Fishbach says that her choice — her child — was a sacrifice she made “in pursuing a career in medicine.”
According to Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fishbach is not alone. A full 11.2% of doctors told researchers they or their partner had procured an abortion, with research leader Morgan Levy of the University of Miami School of Medicine stating that these findings illustrate that abortion is common among physicians, although significantly less than in the general population — the abortion rate among doctors of reproductive age, defined as 45 years or younger, was 10.2% and the general population average is 23.7%.
Levy also found that those who reported having an abortion were generally older survey respondents. The numbers were slightly higher for medical students than for doctors, where 15.4% reported having an abortion, and 68.1% of those who reported having an abortion stating that it was for medical career purposes — in other words, situations like Shira Fishbach’s.
Viny Aurora, the Dean for Medical Education at the Pritzker School of Medicine, was effusive in her praise of Fishbach’s feticide testimony. “Grateful to our @UChiPritzker medical student leader @shirafish for agreeing to share her powerful story about abortion among physicians and trainees as an example of the people in our new study,” she tweeted. “So courageous and a bright future ahead.”
She didn’t explain why having an abortion to ensure that a child would not be a hindrance was “courageous.”
