MADISON, Wis – One year ago, the extreme Republican justices on the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade after 40 years of precedent, rolling back women’s reproductive freedoms across the country. In Wisconsin the case triggered an abortion ban written in 1849 that has no exceptions for cases of rape or incest.
On the one-year anniversary of the overturning of Roe v Wade, Sarah Godlewski hosted around table with Wisconsin medical students, residents, and OB-GYNS to hear about their experiences since abortion became mostly illegal in Wisconsin. Godlewski, who ran for the US Senate in 2022 on a platform of abortion and affordable childcare, also previously ran a PAC that held pro-choice rallies ahead of the 2023 Supreme Court election.
The overturning of Roe has created a difficult line for doctors who may need to carry out miscarriages or other lifesaving procedures that put them at risk for criminalization. In education, there has been a clear decrease in the number of OB-GYN medical residents applying to practice in Wisconsin because they cannot get the training they need.
“I’m most worried about knowing that I’m going to be put in situations where I cannot do what’s best for my patient. I am in medicine to take care of patients. I love OB-GYN because it has the best patients in all of medicine and I love caring for them, but I know that I’m going to come up against that and that it is going to cause that moral injury knowing that I can’t do what’s right and then having to bear witness to all of the consequences of that of watching people go through pregnancies that are difficult for them physically, emotionally,” said Molly Wecker, fourth year medical student.
“I think there is a movement in our, at least in our Medical Society, like people care about this. People are very passionate about it, and I think the way we need to go about this now is just taking that passion that exists and channeling it into making a difference. And I think that’s like starting to happen now finally in the state of Wisconsin,” said Laurie Lapp, fourth year medical student.
“Seeing all of my classmates and colleagues get really passionate about closing the gap and being able to provide that abortion care to patients has been really inspiring. And it has given me a lot of hope that even though things are dire now, hopefully by the time we’re all practicing physicians, it won’t be like that anymore, that we’ll be able to provide that care for our patients and do what’s right for them” said Jess Gillespie, fourth year medical student.
“With reproductive rights under attack in Wisconsin, it is important that we take the time to understand the impact the overturning of Roe has on our state. Medical students are key to our future and Wisconsin’s overall well-being. Today’s conversation with medical students clearly illustrated our states abortion ban puts women and medical providers at risk and we must work to preserve this important freedom,” said Sarah Godlewski.
