How can I shadow an abortion?

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kinokoboy

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Has anybody here shadowed an abortion?
 
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I'll bite. No. I haven't. But, my MFM specialist I had last year while pregnant did terminate pregnancies--if during the course of genetic testing, an anomaly was discovered. I honestly doubt a grieving parent or parents would allow you to watch their D&C. To add to that, if you did go to a clinic, those types of things are usually anonymous, and I doubt the parties involved would want anyone watching who wasn't involved in the process medically.

Best of luck.
 
Carry a wire hanger with you wherever you go and hope for a prostitute in need of a favor.
 
Has anybody here shadowed an abortion?

You don't shadow procedures, you shadow physicians. If you shadow an OBGYN who does abortions you might happen to see one. Or might not. You don't get to pick and choose when shadowing, you just show up on your given days and see what there is to see.

FWIW, this really doesn't sound like a nontrad board question.
 
Gay Marriage...

Abortions...

Really??
 
If the "boy" in your screen name indicates your gender, you'd have a hard time shadowing an ob/gyn. Most women don't consent to volunteers (That's essentially what you are when you're shadowing) for things relating to the reproductive system.
 
You don't shadow procedures, you shadow physicians. If you shadow an OBGYN who does abortions you might happen to see one. Or might not. You don't get to pick and choose when shadowing, you just show up on your given days and see what there is to see.

FWIW, this really doesn't sound like a nontrad board question.

+1

I have a feeling it might be that rare type of troll who thinks they could be a comedian 👎
 
Shadow an abortion? L.O.L.
Srsly though, find an MFM. Or you can always try a clinic but CALL/EMAIL. I learned the hard way going in person, thinking seeing my face would make me seem more sincere and everything,.. NO... They thought I was trying to blow up the place.. @__0
 
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FWIW, this really doesn't sound like a nontrad board question.

This is a non-traditional question so it obviously belongs in the non-trad board. Don't you guys want to learn everything physicians do with their patients!?!?
 
This is a non-traditional question so it obviously belongs in the non-trad board. Don't you guys want to learn everything physicians do with their patients!?!?
...and out of everything you just randomly picked an abortion?
 
This is a non-traditional question so it obviously belongs in the non-trad board. Don't you guys want to learn everything physicians do with their patients!?!?

You wont learn everything, you just get assorted windows of time when shadowing. Just shadow and learn. Don't try to pick and choose procedures that might not even happen during your brief window. The goal of shadowing is not to learn about specific procedures, but to see what doctors actually do each day.
 
I want to know why you want to see this procedure. Are you a closet super pro-life person trying to figure out how to murder abortion providers? Do you have some sick sense of wanting to see women at a very low point in their lives that they had to make this choice because of whatever reason they are here? What kind of messed up guy wants to see this? I don't buy your "want to learn everything" BS...
 
If the "boy" in your screen name indicates your gender, you'd have a hard time shadowing an ob/gyn. Most women don't consent to volunteers (That's essentially what you are when you're shadowing) for things relating to the reproductive system.

Speaking for myself, I've always been happy to have "volunteers"/shadowing students come in to witness my births. For my most recent birth, you could hear them screaming up the halls to get medical students, new residents, etc. into the room. It was a completely natural birth (not even an IV), and the baby was born in an intact amniotic sac. I didn't realize how rare that was until the attending said he'd been practicing 18 years and never seen it before.

The totally natural birth was a bit of an accident....the baby was nearly born in the parking lot. I knew I wouldn't/couldn't have an epidural (my two previous babies resulted in failed epidurals), but I didn't expect to go without an IV, fetal monitoring, etc. :laugh:

All of this is to say, you never know. At the same time, I can't imagine a doctor even *offering* to let you sit in on a termination. That's one of the most private/emotional/vulnerable moments of any mother's life. It would be completely inappropriate for a non-professional to be involved.
 
The only opportunity you're ever going to have to "shadow" an abortion is to have one yourself.
 
Concerning seeing an abortion specifically, it isn't something that one would typically "shadow," and you wouldn't be able to see much even if you were present in the room. Many abortions are medical and do not involve any procedures beyond giving pills. Most others are done endovaginally (going in through the vagina and dilating the cervix, then removing the fetus with suction), in which case you wouldn't be able to see what was going on anyway. Even fairly large fetuses can be removed this way (you may recall the debate over so-called partial birth abortions). In other words, it typically isn't an open surgical procedure where you could scrub in and observe what was happening like you would in a typical OR.

If you're interested in reproductive health, you should look to volunteer or shadow in that venue. I know of several people who have volunteered with Planned Parenthood, for example. It may be a little harder to gain women's trust if you're a male, but there are plenty of male OB/gyns, so it's obviously not impossible.

I also don't think it's abnormal to just be curious about how abortions are performed. If this is your main motivation, I suggest contacting your local Planned Parenthood and asking if it would be possible to visit to learn more about abortions. When I was in medical school, we were given the opportunity to visit a local center that offered abortions, and they showed us all of the instruments and how the procedures were done using models. This was done after hours when there were no patients in the facility, so it did not violate anyone's privacy.
 
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