In this episode, the O+G Advocates speak with two fourth-year medical school students regarding their experience interviewing for OBGYN Residency Spots. OBGYN has become a coveted field in the last 10 years, with 20% of US MD Medical seniors failing to match into the specialty. They take us through their experience, the stresses of applying to a highly competitive specialty during the time of COVID, and how they navigated the possibility of training in a post-Roe v Wade world.  We also had the distinct opportunity to ask about their opinions on the upcoming changes to OBGYN residency interviews.

We would like to thank our two guests.

Megan Sluga, MD Candidate

Twitter @mdSluga

Jenny Hansen, MD Candidate

Twitter: @jennylhansen

Instagram: @jennlhansen

ACOG members will recognize the name and impact of this episode's guest! The Advocates welcome Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward and former Chief Legal Counsel at ACOG. Skye talks about the recent decision on mifepristone administration, the legal ramifications of changing abortion legislation across the country, and challenges physicians to rise to the challenge of defending patient autonomy.

Skye has spent her career defending rights to reproductive health access, including abortion, and shining honest light on inequities in health care. Join the conversation and get your advocacy inspiration.  Follower her on Twitter @SkyePerryman 

Democracy Forward: https://democracyforward.org/

Mifepristone FDA FAQs: https://www.fda.gov/drugs/postmarket-drug-safety-information-patients-and-providers/questions-and-answers-mifeprex

Democracy Forward vaccine litigation info: https://democracyforward.org/lawsuits/defending-federal-vaccine-policies-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/

Democracy forward social media accounts:

Twitter: https://twitter.com/DemocracyFwd

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/democracyforward/?hl=en

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DemocracyFwd

In our first episode of 2022, The O+G Advocates speak with Dr. Minako Watabe about her advocacy work related to occupational toxin exposure for pregnant farm workers. This is a great continuation of our discussion with Dr. DeNicola on the critical interaction between environment and health for our patients. You won't want to miss this one!

CHAMACOS Study

https://cerch.berkeley.edu/research-programs/chamacos-study

Pregnant At Work- UC Hastings Center for Work Life Law

https://pregnantatwork.org/about/

Environmental Working Group

https://www.ewg.org/foodnews/dirty-dozen.php

CA Rural Legal Assistance

https://crla.org/

UCSF Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment

https://prhe.ucsf.edu/

In this episode, the O+G Advocates speak with Dr. Louise King MD, JD, a fellow OB/GYN, and fearless women’s health advocate. Dr. King discusses the double discrimination in gynecologic surgery and how it negatively impacts patient outcomes. She touches on the historical influences that created a system in which women’s health care is not valued which in turn drives the lower rate in reimbursement for gynecologic surgery. The poor reimbursement negatively impacts female surgeons who make up the majority of gynecologic surgeons today.

You can read her article here.  

How did Texas past the most restrictive anti-abortion law in the country?  What reason did the Supreme Court give for not intervening?  How is this law different and how do we challenge it?  It's enough to make your head spin!  Thankfully, The Advocates talk to Texas lawyer Blake Rocap to break it ALL down for us.  

Blake has worked in or with the Texas Legislature since 2007. For the past seven legislative sessions, Blake has been Legislative counsel for AVOW (formerly NARAL Pro-Choice Texas) focusing his advocacy on abortion rights and reproductive healthcare. He is former board member, volunteer attorney and current legal director of Jane’s Due Process a statewide non-profit that helps young people in Texas navigate parental consent laws and confidentially access abortion and birth control. He is the immediate past president of the board of Every Body Texas the Title X grantee in Texas. He is a member of the Health Law, and Legislative and Campaign Law sections of the state bar. 

After this episode was recorded, The House of Representatives passed the Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA). WHPA protects the right to access abortion without restrictions and unnecessary bans.  If passed, it would block state's mandatory waiting periods, mandatory ultrasounds, biased and false counseling, and two-trip requirements.  Read more about WHPA here and how you can get involved in advocacy for it.  

The Advocates talk with Dr. Ghazaleh Moayedi, a champion of reproductive health and justice and an abortion provider in Texas.  Dr. Moayedi talks about what it has been like being a provider in Texas since SB8 became law, the tireless work leading up to the enactment of this law, and what comes next.

Action Items:  

Advocate for the Women's Health Protection Act (WHPA). WHPA is federal legislation that protects the right to access abortion.  If passed, it would prevent abortion bans and ensure abortion access without medically unnecessary restrictions-like waiting periods, mandatory ultrasounds, inaccurate counseling.  Get more information here and learn how to advocate for this legislation!

Consider donating to these incredible organization to support Texans in need of abortion services:

In this episode, the Advocates speak with Dr. Nate DeNicola about how environmental justice and toxic exposures intersect with reproductive health. You will not want to miss learning how you can advocate for a healthier environment to ensure healthier lives.

Follow Dr. Nate DeNicola on twitter @NDeNicolaMD

Read Dr. DeNicola’s JAMA paper “Association of Air Pollution and Heat Exposure with Preterm Birth, Low Birth Weight, and Stillbirth in the US” here.

Read more about Congresswoman Lauren Underwood’s Bill: H.R. 3956 Climate and Health Protection Act and Senator Diane Feinstein’s Bill S. 2669 A bill to ban the use of ortho-phthalate chemicals as food contact substances.

Learn how to get involved in these issues here.

In this episode, The O+G Advocates speak with Dr. Hannah Locke, Director of Gynecology for the Eskenazi Transgender Health and Wellness Center at Indiana University, about being an advocate for transgender and non-binary folx. We discuss what it takes to provide this care and the importance of doing so.

Follow Dr. Locke:

Instagram: @drhannahlocke

Twitter: @drhannahlocke

Mentioned in the Episode:

Whipping Girl by Julia Serano

Amateur and Man Alive by Thomas Paige McBee

She's Not There: A Life in Two Genders by Laura Finney Boylan

UCSF Transgender Health Guidelines

WPATH Standards of Care

ACOG Committee Opinion: Health Care for Transgender and Gender Diverse Individuals

On Monday, May 17th, 2021 The Supreme Court of the United States announced they would hear a case out of Mississippi.  This case arises from a law that bans nearly all abortions after 15 weeks, putting a direct challenge to Roe v. Wade.  This is also the first abortion case that will be heard after the passing of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the confirmation of Justice Amy Coney Barrett.  

The O+G Advocates sit down with Becca Hart Holder, Executive Director of NARAL Massachusetts, to break it all down: what this case means, what the past has shown us, and what the future might hold.  

Follow Becca on Twitter @rhartholder