Media Center: Press Release

Statement of Wendy Chavkin, MD, MPH, Board Chair of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health (PRCH), on the passing of William K. Rashbaum, MD, founder of PRCH and gifted physician

New York, NY—William K. Rashbaum, MD, was a gifted obstetrician-gynecologist who chose to share his talents by training scores of physicians to follow in his footsteps. Though his gift will live on, his presence will be greatly missed.

Dr. Rashbaum understood the importance of providing the best, medically accurate reproductive healthcare to women. He was a devoted advocate for women’s rights. He was a founder of Physicians for Reproductive Choice and Health and always urged PRCH and its members to do our best in communicating with public policy makers about the public health need for accessible abortion services for all women. He concentrated on training obstetrician-gynecologists to perform abortions to ensure that women would always have access to skilled medical care.

Born in New York City in 1926, the son of an obstetrician-gynecologist and the grandson of the first fully trained gynecologist in Louisiana, Dr. Rashbaum graduated from New York University College of Medicine in 1951.

Dr. Rashbaum was Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City and was on the faculty of Cornell University School of Medicine. Until a few weeks prior to his death, Dr. Rashbaum was practicing as an Attending Obstetrician at Jacobi Hospital in the Bronx, and Beth Israel Medical Center and New York Hospital in Manhattan, providing women with comprehensive reproductive healthcare.

His passionate commitment to providing quality reproductive healthcare, including abortion, was unmatched and we will continue to work for access to these vital services for all Americans in his honor.