Staff Report
UNM medical students are going through special classes to educate them on the ins and outs of abortion and some of them are leaving more supportive of the procedure, according to a University study.
A study released last week designed to gauge students' openness to abortion instruction in medical school found that about 30 percent of the time, people's opinions of abortion change as a result.
Abortion was officially added to the University medical school's curriculum in 1998.
Second-year medical students at UNM go through two lecture classes about abortion, detailing the statistics of the popularity of the procedure and the demographics of women who choose abortion and the actual medical and surgical procedures involved.
In their third year at UNM's medical school, however, the students are offered the chance to participate in a half-day clinical experience, said Eve Espey, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at UNM.
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She said about 68 percent of the students participated in the clinic at Planned Parenthood of Albuquerque, where they were allowed to sit in on counseling sessions and actually view an abortion.
"We're really pleased that the 30 percent whose opinions changed became more supportive of abortion," Espey said.
Those who chose not to participate in the study, she said, did so because of religious objections or preference to concentrate on other aspects of patient care.
Espey said the student's support for abortion grew because they were allowed to empathize with the women they met.
"It put a human face on it," she said. "It goes beyond a textbook to learn about the world."
Fourth-year medical students are also offered a one-month intensive session in reproductive health to get additional abortion training, Espey said.
The goal of the study, she said, was to show the benefits of including abortion-related classes in a medical school curriculum in hopes more universities will adopt the idea.
"Abortion is a very controversial topic. It doesn't make its way into college curriculums easily," Espey said. "But, it's important that medical students learn as much as they can and experience real-life situations to be fully prepared to take on the responsibilities of medical professionals."
