Medical Students for Choice Conference

In November 2011, I was able to attend the Medical Students for Choice annual meeting. It was held in Baltimore with medical students and doctors from all over the country and the world, who believe that women should have the right to any birth control method they prefer. Many of the medical students and doctors who attended work in Obstetrics and Gynecology, but many were from other specialities and simply wanted to show their support for the organization's efforts to train and educate medical students and residents around women's health issues.

I didn't really know what to expect from the conference and was very pleasantly surprised with the outcome. A number of new legislation, statistics, and facts for providers was presented that really blew my mind. It's obvious that most restrictions on family planning or birth control disproportionately affect poor women and women of color. It's also obvious that once a woman has a child before she's ready, her ability to then complete her education or go into the career or her choice is greatly reduced. This is definitely an important issue for me, since I want to do everything I can to make sure people are able to overcome their circumstances and have all the education and success they want in life. It's sad that that has become such a serious political issue, when it's actually something really personal and private.

I feel like the most important thing I took away from the meeting was that, as a doctor, I should not restrict the options I am willing to present/provide to my patients based on my own personal beliefs, and no matter what type of medicine I practice, I will likely have female patients in the reproductive age range. It's important for us to do what's best medically, emotionally, spiritually, psychologically and financially for our patients, rather than allow our own beliefs to impede on someone's ability to get full service family planning.