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About MSFC -> History of MSFC In the spring of 1993, tens of thousands of medical students across the U.S. received an anti-choice pamphlet at their homes. The offensive, meant-to-intimidate tone of the brochure can be most quickly conveyed by a "joke" that it contained: "Q: What would you do if you were in a room with Hitler, Mussolini and an abortionist and you had a gun with only two bullets? A: Shoot the abortionist twice." Soon after that, Dr. David Gunn, a Florida abortion provider, was murdered. Medical students across the country began to realize that, as future physicians, they were targets of anti-choice extremists. At the same time, they were noticing that abortion was being excluded from their medical education. Students and young doctors were ill-prepared to counsel women about their reproductive health options. Moreover, they were ill-equipped to decide whether to offer abortion services. In the face of an increasingly violent anti-choice climate, Jody Steinauer, a UCSF medical student at the time, joined with a handful of students to place a stake in the ground: if a woman was going to have reproductive choices in the future, students needed to learn about abortion in school, be trained in abortion in residency, and find support as future abortion providers. Jody and her colleagues resolved to ensure that future medical students would be exposed to comprehensive reproductive health topics within their medical school curriculum and receive training in the provision of reproductive health care services, including abortion. They recognized the need for a national network of pro-choice medical students to keep abortion as a feasible, as well as legal, option for women by destigmatizing abortion among medical students and persuading institutions to include abortion as a part of standard medical education and training. A national network emerged, and Medical Students for Choice® became an organization with a powerful vision and agenda. Today MSFC is an internationally known non-profit organization with a network of over 10,000 medical students and residents around the United States and Canada and a successful track record. Our work has led to curriculum reform, expanded training opportunities, increased awareness of the issue among policymakers, and support of students’ grassroots efforts across North America. If you would like to help further our cause or learn more about MSFC’s mission and programs, please contact us at: MSFC National Office
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