The double-edged sword of abortion regulations: Decreasing training opportunities while increasing knowledge requirements
ABSTRACTPurpose The authors explore how abortion regulations in Ohio, an abortion-restrictive state in the USA, impact obstetrician-gynecologists’ (OB/GYNs) training in reproductive healthcare and describe what OB/GYNs believe to be the broader impact of Ohio’s regulations on skill-building, skills...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Taylor & Francis Group
2023-12-01
|
| Series: | Medical Education Online |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10872981.2022.2145104 |
| _version_ | 1797450002467913728 |
|---|---|
| author | Hillary J. Gyuras Meredith P. Field Olivia Thornton Danielle Bessett Michelle L. McGowan |
| author_facet | Hillary J. Gyuras Meredith P. Field Olivia Thornton Danielle Bessett Michelle L. McGowan |
| author_sort | Hillary J. Gyuras |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | ABSTRACTPurpose The authors explore how abortion regulations in Ohio, an abortion-restrictive state in the USA, impact obstetrician-gynecologists’ (OB/GYNs) training in reproductive healthcare and describe what OB/GYNs believe to be the broader impact of Ohio’s regulations on skill-building, skills maintenance, and professional retention of reproductive healthcare providers in the state. Authors discuss how their findings foreshadow abortion training limitations in Ohio and other abortion-restrictive states now that abortion regulations have returned to the states.Methods The authors conducted four semi-structured focus groups and five in-depth interviews between April 2019 and March 2020. Participants included OB/GYNs practicing obstetrics and gynecology in Ohio between 2010 and 2020. Thematic analysis was conducted using Atlas.ti.Results Twenty attending physicians and 15 fellows and residents participated in the study. Participants discussed the impact of Ohio’s written transfer agreement, gestational-limit, and abortion method and facility bans on training and skill-building opportunities. Participants felt that Ohio’s strict abortion regulations 1) limit opportunities to observe and perform abortion procedures during training; 2) require learning the ever-changing legality of abortion provision; 3) limit the number of abortions OB/GYNs can provide, leading to the atrophy of their skills over time; and 4) may prevent prospective medical students and residents from choosing to study in Ohio and may lead to physician attrition from the state.Conclusion Prior to the reversal of federal protections for abortion in 2022, OB/GYNs in Ohio and other abortion-hostile states experienced barriers to training in abortion care. In returning abortion regulation to the states, access to training is likely to be increasingly restricted. This research demonstrates how abortion-restrictions hamper physicians’ skills needed to care for patients, particularly in emergent situations. This puts patients at risk and places physicians in precarious ethical positions. Expanding protections and reducing restrictions on abortion will ensure OB/GYNs and trainees have the skills necessary to care for patients presenting for reproductive healthcare. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T14:34:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ffaea135b78f4cc5a2c87751afd27e1c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1087-2981 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T14:34:15Z |
| publishDate | 2023-12-01 |
| publisher | Taylor & Francis Group |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Medical Education Online |
| spelling | doaj.art-ffaea135b78f4cc5a2c87751afd27e1c2023-11-27T16:01:59ZengTaylor & Francis GroupMedical Education Online1087-29812023-12-0128110.1080/10872981.2022.2145104The double-edged sword of abortion regulations: Decreasing training opportunities while increasing knowledge requirementsHillary J. Gyuras0Meredith P. Field1Olivia Thornton2Danielle Bessett3Michelle L. McGowan4Gyuras Is a Research Associate, College of Public Health, the Ohio State University, Ohio, USADivision of Social Sciences, Alfred University, Alfred, New York, USADepartment of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Massachusetts, USADepartment of Sociology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USABiomedical Ethics Research Program, Department of Quantitative Health Sciences, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minnesota, USAABSTRACTPurpose The authors explore how abortion regulations in Ohio, an abortion-restrictive state in the USA, impact obstetrician-gynecologists’ (OB/GYNs) training in reproductive healthcare and describe what OB/GYNs believe to be the broader impact of Ohio’s regulations on skill-building, skills maintenance, and professional retention of reproductive healthcare providers in the state. Authors discuss how their findings foreshadow abortion training limitations in Ohio and other abortion-restrictive states now that abortion regulations have returned to the states.Methods The authors conducted four semi-structured focus groups and five in-depth interviews between April 2019 and March 2020. Participants included OB/GYNs practicing obstetrics and gynecology in Ohio between 2010 and 2020. Thematic analysis was conducted using Atlas.ti.Results Twenty attending physicians and 15 fellows and residents participated in the study. Participants discussed the impact of Ohio’s written transfer agreement, gestational-limit, and abortion method and facility bans on training and skill-building opportunities. Participants felt that Ohio’s strict abortion regulations 1) limit opportunities to observe and perform abortion procedures during training; 2) require learning the ever-changing legality of abortion provision; 3) limit the number of abortions OB/GYNs can provide, leading to the atrophy of their skills over time; and 4) may prevent prospective medical students and residents from choosing to study in Ohio and may lead to physician attrition from the state.Conclusion Prior to the reversal of federal protections for abortion in 2022, OB/GYNs in Ohio and other abortion-hostile states experienced barriers to training in abortion care. In returning abortion regulation to the states, access to training is likely to be increasingly restricted. This research demonstrates how abortion-restrictions hamper physicians’ skills needed to care for patients, particularly in emergent situations. This puts patients at risk and places physicians in precarious ethical positions. Expanding protections and reducing restrictions on abortion will ensure OB/GYNs and trainees have the skills necessary to care for patients presenting for reproductive healthcare.https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10872981.2022.2145104Abortionabortion restrictionsmedical educationresidencymedical schoolfellowship |
| spellingShingle | Hillary J. Gyuras Meredith P. Field Olivia Thornton Danielle Bessett Michelle L. McGowan The double-edged sword of abortion regulations: Decreasing training opportunities while increasing knowledge requirements Medical Education Online Abortion abortion restrictions medical education residency medical school fellowship |
| title | The double-edged sword of abortion regulations: Decreasing training opportunities while increasing knowledge requirements |
| title_full | The double-edged sword of abortion regulations: Decreasing training opportunities while increasing knowledge requirements |
| title_fullStr | The double-edged sword of abortion regulations: Decreasing training opportunities while increasing knowledge requirements |
| title_full_unstemmed | The double-edged sword of abortion regulations: Decreasing training opportunities while increasing knowledge requirements |
| title_short | The double-edged sword of abortion regulations: Decreasing training opportunities while increasing knowledge requirements |
| title_sort | double edged sword of abortion regulations decreasing training opportunities while increasing knowledge requirements |
| topic | Abortion abortion restrictions medical education residency medical school fellowship |
| url | https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/10.1080/10872981.2022.2145104 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hillaryjgyuras thedoubleedgedswordofabortionregulationsdecreasingtrainingopportunitieswhileincreasingknowledgerequirements AT meredithpfield thedoubleedgedswordofabortionregulationsdecreasingtrainingopportunitieswhileincreasingknowledgerequirements AT oliviathornton thedoubleedgedswordofabortionregulationsdecreasingtrainingopportunitieswhileincreasingknowledgerequirements AT daniellebessett thedoubleedgedswordofabortionregulationsdecreasingtrainingopportunitieswhileincreasingknowledgerequirements AT michellelmcgowan thedoubleedgedswordofabortionregulationsdecreasingtrainingopportunitieswhileincreasingknowledgerequirements AT hillaryjgyuras doubleedgedswordofabortionregulationsdecreasingtrainingopportunitieswhileincreasingknowledgerequirements AT meredithpfield doubleedgedswordofabortionregulationsdecreasingtrainingopportunitieswhileincreasingknowledgerequirements AT oliviathornton doubleedgedswordofabortionregulationsdecreasingtrainingopportunitieswhileincreasingknowledgerequirements AT daniellebessett doubleedgedswordofabortionregulationsdecreasingtrainingopportunitieswhileincreasingknowledgerequirements AT michellelmcgowan doubleedgedswordofabortionregulationsdecreasingtrainingopportunitieswhileincreasingknowledgerequirements |