Because it’s irrelevant for medical school purposes. Medical school is the base training for all doctors; they then each go on to residencies in the fields of their choosing, which is where they specialize in the techniques and issues relevant to that field. Knowing how to perform an abortion is only relevant to OB-GYNs; it’s not relevant to dermatologists or ear-nose-and-throat doctors or allergists.

Jesurgislac’s comment “But all medical practicioners ought to be *trained* how to perform abortions; it’s just a basic” doesn’t make any sense. Why should the med school student who is ultimately going to be a dermatologist have to be trained on how to do abortions?

And OB-GYN doctor is absolutely right. It’s quite easy for an OB-GYN to be pro-choice personally but still feel uneasy when actually doing the abortions. I suggest that those of you who are complaining that the OB-GYNs need to suck up and do it, might consider going to med school and residency yourself if you’re so committed to ensuring that there are abortion providers around.

OB-GYN doctor is also quite right in that there is significant domestic terrorism directed towards OB’s and their families. If I were an OB-GYN who performed abortions, I sure would keep it hush-hush … not because it’s something to be ashamed of, but who knows what sort of whack job might decide to off your spouse and children. It is quite a real fear for OB-GYN’s.

I don’t see why the woman in question should be compelled or pushed into getting over her feelings and helping perform abortions. If she doesn’t want to do it, she doesn’t. However, if, that is IF, she is interested in getting past her visceral reaction and performing abortions for whatever reason (better pay, more socially useful, whatever), I can think of some things that might be helpful for her.

She might reflect on what exactly bothers her about what she saw and how to get around it. If it was the “assemble the parts of a nearly formed baby” aspect then maybe observing some first trimester abortions and seeing the undifferentiated to the naked eye products of such abortions would be helpful. (Note that if she worked at a clinic she would be involved only in first trimester abortions, not second and certainly not third trimester. So she would be reasonably assured of never seeing a fetus that looked even vaguely like a baby.)

She might consider whether she wants to do some sort of support work at a clinic that provides abortions, even if she doesn’t want to scrub for the procedure. If she worked as a counselor or circulating nurse for a while she might get over her reaction and feel comfortable being involved in first trimester abortions again.

My advice to the daughter would be something like this, “Back off a bit. Let your mother know that you’re ready to help her in any way you can if she does want to start working in a facility that performs abortions again and that she shouldn’t hesitate to use you for moral support or a sounding board, but then drop it. Don’t insist that she must get over it or that her response is somehow irrational or wrong. She’ll either come to the idea on her own or not.”

If she were essentially acting as an anti-abortion mole (even with the best of intentions) by filling a position at an establishment that did perform them–as we’ve seen many times–that would certainly be objectionable. All she’s doing, though, is removing herself from a situation that makes her uncomfortable.

Before I left the US, I talked with some of the faculty who are involved with the “Med Students for Choice” Group on my campus in preparation for the work I’d be doing. They invited me to come to their clinic, and I had the opportunity to actually observe some abortion procedures. I will dislaim by saying that while I have never been squeamish, I am not a clinician – I am not a nurse or doctor, and have not had much experience with observing medical procedures. I have at times thought that maybe I should get some clinical training, so that I could perform abortions.

Anyhow – I thought I was prepared for the experience of watching an abortion – I have read so much about the medical procedure, I have seen the illustrations, etc. But somehow, watching it in real life play out in front of my eyes was different. I watched the clinician inject anesthetic into the woman’s cervix, and then I started to feel a little woozy. Within a minute or two, I had passed out cold on the floor. It was a horrible, embarrassing experience – although it is funny to say (to the right person) that my most embarrassing moment was passing out while watching someone’s abortion procedure.

I spent a long time reflecting on what happened and questioning myself. Did this mean that I couldn’t hack it? If I couldn’t watch a procedure without fainting, should I really be doing this work? And as my initial embarassment receded, I was able to answer those questions. I know that I am in the right field, doing the right thing, and I’ve watched a few other procedures (from a different vantage point, in a very different context, using different surgical techniques) without any problems. I think that I could go back into that clinic in the US and watch a procedure again without a problem, but who knows? Maybe not.

All this is to say that yes, some of us have limits, and while we can agree wholeheartedly with something, and support it with our time, energy, and emotion, it may be different when you come face to face with it.

I wanted to share one other story. My father is a family physician. My parents are pro-choice because they understand that if abortion is illegal, the consequences are dire. However, this is a “silent position” – they do not talk about it, fight for choice and access, etc. When I was 19 or 20, my mom told me that my father used to perform abortions in my hometown. He was performing them until a local anti-choice religious zealot started visiting our home regularly, and having chats over coffee with my parents. I was a child at the time, and I remember her coming over to our home. It was a small town, and she was a friend of a friend, coming over to “chat.” My mom was pregnant with one of my siblings during this time.

It turns out that this woman was, through a succession of conversations, convincing my parents to stop providing abortions in their clinic. She threatened that she would “ruin” him in our small town. Out of fear and confusion, my parents agreed that they would stop providing the services. It was all extremely quiet. There were no picketers in front of his clinic, no rallies, no press – just a series of persuasive chats. My parents are also Christian – not in the narrow-minded way that this woman is a Christian, but I think she questioned their faith just enough that they started doubting themselves.

So, it was hard for me to learn about this. 10 years later, I still haven’t talked to my father about it, but I hope to interview him about it one day. Sometimes, I am still angry that he stopped providing this service. But because I love him and understand that the real reason he stoppped doing abortions was to protect his practice and his family in a small town, and being a member of that family, I can respect his decision. I still have a lot of questions, and getting them answered may change how I feel. Mostly, I want to know about the “access” piece. When my father stopped doing abortions, were women in my hometown able to get them elsewhere? Because I grew up in an area with decent access to small and large cities, I’m pretty sure that if you had some means, it would not be hard to find another abortion provider in the area. But, I don’t know that for certain.

When my mother told me this story, I was in the middle of my heady, angry, “newly minted feminist” days where the world seemed very black and white. She told me the story, and followed it with a request. She said that I could do any feminist work I wanted, but please don’t work for Planned Parenthood, or do abortion-related work. It was a “think of your father, think of our family” speech. 10 years ago, my mom still harbored the fear that someone might just get a crazy notion to kill my father, or bring down his medical practice.

I haven’t talked about my career path with my mom since then, but while I understand her request and I respect my father’s decision to not provide abortion services, I know that I am driven to do this work (in spite of my apparent propensity to faint during the procedure at the sight of blood).

So, these long-winded stories are really just to say that I think we have to respect that people are complex creatures. I still find myself asking questions like, “if a nurse refuses to scrub in for an abortion procedure, is that akin to a pharmacist denying a woman contraception?” My gut reaction is yes – it is the same sort of issue. But when I think of myself and I think of my father, I know that it’s really complicated when it comes down to the personal level.

Nevertheless though, it does sometimes feel that, just as there are a large proportion of right-wingers who refuse to recognize any benefits of abortion to women, people and society in general, a lot of pro-choice supporters are also unwilling to recognize that it’s just not a black and white issue. I’m not suggesting that camaigning for abortion rights s on the same level as bombing medical clinics by a longshot, just that it’s possible to support something as being on balance a necessity while still disagreeing on the morality of the procedure (or just feeling uncomfortable with its implications).

But still, don’t nurses often specialise in specific areas? Perhaps it’s different here in the UK but surely if you’re not okay with any particular area of medicine it’s possible to concentrate on a different subsection?

That I can totally understand. Thanks for clarifying the rest of it for me.

Also, I think it’s a pretty fucked up human who WOULDN’T be bothered by handling dismembered baby parts. Call it a fetus if you like, that’s still a tiny human and late-term babies LOOK LIKE BABIES. I can’t believe anyone would complain about someone being squicked out about that. That’s just sick.