Spotlight on....

January 23, 2013

Today, the New York City Council approved a resolution calling on Congress to support and protect funding for comprehensive reproductive health care services, including abortion.

At a hearing last week, our consulting medical director Anne Davis, MD, MPH, testified to the importance of affordable, accessible, comprehensive reproductive health care for all. About abortion, Dr. Davis told the council's Committee on Women's Issues:

"I see women every day who rely on Medicaid for their health care. Many of them already have children, have low-paying jobs, and are struggling to get by. They know that they cannot have another child at this time and know that abortion is the right decision for them and their families.

"All women deserve health insurance that covers their health care needs, and these women, because they live in New York, are able to get their abortions without delay. This should be our standard for women across the country."

Read Dr. Davis's full testimony.

January 18, 2013

Thank you to everyone who joined us in New York City for PRCH's first-ever public conversation with abortion providers!

Read reporters' accounts of the evening on Buzzfeed, Jezebel, the blog for Scientific American, and Women's eNews.

More than 120 people gathered to hear three physicians—Drs. Curtis Boyd, Willie Parker (pictured here at the event), and Linda Prine—talk about why they provide abortions and their hopes for the future of abortion rights and access. The following are a few snippets from a night of terrific dialogue and moving stories.

Dr. Curtis Boyd on living in Texas in the 1950s: "I had compassion for those women who had unintended pregnancies. I had certain knowledge that an unintended pregnancy could ruin a woman's life." Dr. Boyd, a family medicine physician, started providing abortions in 1965 and hasn't stopped.

Dr. Willie Parker, who didn’t provide abortions until several years into his career as an obstetrician/gynecologist: "It became immoral for me not to provide abortions." Dr. Parker cited Martin Luther King Jr.'s interpretation of the Good Samaritan parable as the catalyst for his decision to become an abortion provider.

Dr. Linda Prine, who has dedicated her career to integrating abortion into family medicine: "We're doing something monumental for women—it's about their hopes and dreams." Dr. Prine explained that she practices "patient-centered" medicine—to her, medicine that excludes abortion can't be considered patient-centered.

January 14, 2013

Come to our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, a conversation with three PRCH physicians who provide abortions: Dr. Willie Parker, Dr. Linda Prine, and a special guest. Join us tonight in midtown Manhattan from 6:30 to 8:30 PM. Tickets are $20 each. To register for the event and learn more, click here.

Willie Parker, MD, MPH, MSc, is a physician plaintiff in the lawsuit to keep Mississippi's only abortion clinic open. An obstetrician/gynecologist, Dr. Parker is a PRCH board member and former Leadership Training Initiative Fellow. Dr. Parker is also on the boards of Choice USA and the Religious Coalition for Reproductive Choice.

Linda Prine, MD, is a family medicine physician and the 2012 recipient of PRCH's William K. Rashbaum, MD, Abortion Provider Award. Dr. Prine is the medical director and founder of the Reproductive Health Access Project (RHAP), a nonprofit dedicated to integrating reproductive health services into primary care.

Read about Dr. Prine and the patients she helps in this Women's Media Center profile just published today.

We hope to see you on Monday night for the conversation with Drs. Parker, Prine, and our special guest! Buy your ticket here.

January 9, 2013

In today's New York Times, Leadership Training Academy Fellow Angela Janis, MD, responds to an article about crisis pregnancy centers: "As a psychiatrist, I am upset by the [centers'] inaccurate claims relating to mental health, including purported increased risk of depression, suicide, or other negative outcomes following abortion. ... Reputable studies have shown that there is no independent link between abortion and negative psychological outcomes."

Dr. Janis notes that this "one example of the many inaccurate, scientifically baseless statements these centers use to misinform women."