Quoted: Mentioning abortion support and interest in med school application

[Doodledog]

I have wanted to be an OB/GYN since I was a kid. I'm also a hardcore feminist. When I was a sophomore in college I went to the March for Women's Lives in DC and a group of med students in lab coats were carrying signs saying "We are tomorrow's abortion providers". They gave me a sign to carry too. It gave me a really profound feeling and that was the moment that becoming a doctor changed for me from a childhood fantasy to something I wanted to really accomplish. I have mixed feelings about abortion itself but I strongly believe that it should be safe, accessible, and legal, especially for the people who need it most: poor, young, accidentally pregnant women. Seeing my future as an OB/GYN as that of a soldier on the front lines of a battle for women's rights to their bodies is a key part of my passion for medicine. Of course I'm also very passionate about other areas of reproductive health, especially birth control (to prevent the need for aforementioned abortions).

I try to sort of allude to this issue when asked about it, by saying things like I want to be an advocate for women's reproductive health and leaving it at that, but for applications and interviews, that sort of vagueness isn't going to work. In fact, I'm afraid to talk about feminist issues at all in that context. I have no idea how the adcoms tend to feel about those issues in general, and it's a touchy subject for a lot of people. Plus abortion is specifically prohibited in the original Hippocratic oath.

Any advice you could give about how to talk about my passion for feminist issues in healthcare and my feelings about abortion without offending the adcoms would be greatly appreciated.

This is a very interesting question and issue. Given how strongly you feel, and how much it is a part of your path to medical school, I think it is probably a good idea to bring this up in your essays. Now, because your essays will be read by multiple people and your interviews will be done with multiple people, you don't want to lose your chance at any given med school by really upsetting someone unnecessarily.

Therefore, I recommend that you seriously consider HOW you word your essays and have some truly "unbiased" and independent forks read your essays before you send them and hear your answers to questions. I have read essays that say almost exactly "I am going into medicine because male doctors have abused women for decades", etc. You won't win any points for that and it isn't necessary to come across that way (I'm sure you won't...but I've seen this before). Remember that you will be a doctor (at least in med school and residency) who is taking care of people of all political perspectives.

On the other hand, saying something like "I am committed to a career in which I promote women's reproductive health" will get the message across and is a positive, not a negative sounding message. Then, as with any other interest, explain what you have DONE to demonstrate that issue. If you worked at Planned Parenthood, did abortion counseling, etc, these can be described as activities without any political content. People will understand you.

Whether to include the story about the pro-choice sign or not is a tough one. If that really was a key turning point for you, I'd include it, but you may offend a few people with it. Tough call on that specific issue.

The original Hippocratic Oath is not really an issue in med school admissions.

Finally, to others reading this thread, remember that this forum is not to debate issues, such as abortion rights, so such posts or hostile posts will not be posted here. If you have specific helpful advice for the OP, please contribute.

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[error404]

If its (a) important to you, and (b) you can present it in a meaningful, not-on-a-soapbox way, and (c) you recognize that there may occasionally be a reader who penalizes you and (d) accept that... go for it.

I know students who got in and discussed abortion in their letters. Now, I wouldn't send that essay to religious schools that have anti-abortion policies. (Georgetown comes to mind.)

 

[Terpskins99]

Therefore, I recommend that you seriously consider HOW you word your essays and have some truly "unbiased" and independent forks read your essays before you send them and hear your answers to questions.

Even better... have someone pro-life read your essay and see what they say. Frankly, this is the only instance where having such a strong pro-choice stance would become a point of contention in an interview. Many physicians are pro-life and you want to be careful not to come across as preachy or unwilling to listen to counter-arguments to your beliefs.

 

[pietachok]

With regards to your essay topic and possibly writing about your desire to provide a safe/accessible environment for abortion, I would avoid ever referring to abortion. There is a whole spectrum of other duties you can/will provide to aid young women's reproductive health outside of abortion, and you can effectively get your identity/personality and motivation towards medicine across in the essay without mentioning abortion, specifically. The number of young American women who are unaware of their own bodies in this day and age is pretty shocking, and accordingly they face a multitude of health consequences due to poor and misadvised choices--they don't get regular exams, they get STDs b/c they have improper sex education, and they simply don't find their physicians socially accessible so when they do see them, they don't talk about the issues that are actually important to them. You can be passionate about all of that and more without making one mention of your stance regarding abortion, and thus not alienate any of your readers while getting across your lilt for feminism and desire to aid this field.