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When I was doing my residency in New York, a patient came in 18 weeks pregnant and very, very sick. The only way to save her was to terminate the pregnancy. We were in a Catholic hospital … I vividly recall my director of obstetrics and the chairman arguing with the nuns. They said, “Well, the baby’s only 18 weeks, it’s going to die.” They felt very strongly that we could not do anything, but they would be okay with us transferring her to get care elsewhere. The director rode with the patient in the ambulance because he was afraid that she would have seizures. She was in her early 20s, and she already had a kid. That really got to me. How could we let this mom die and leave her child behind when we have the means to take care of her? I said to myself: “I never want my hands tied behind my back like that again.” I used to travel; these days I’m mostly in Georgia and I’m a backup physician in Alabama. In Alabama, my patients tend to be poor and young. The youngest was barely 12. She went to play with a classmate, and there were older boys over … When her guardians brought her in, I was reluctant to take care of her in an outpatient setting because we couldn’t sedate her. I went to the local hospital and said, “She’s just a baby. She’s suffered enough. Please, can we put her to sleep.” Everybody was onboard. Things have changed so much I don’t know if I would be able to get away with that now. The most frustrating thing for me, especially in the Southeast, is seeing so many women who are not empowered to take care of themselves. Especially women of color. You hear things like “I was told I’m too young for an IUD” when we know that’s not true. They need to know what their options are. I’m Haitian-American, and the part of me that is extremely cynical wants to say, Well, it’s because these are black women. But I really think it’s a matter of poverty. It just so happens that the face of poverty may be black. A few weeks ago, a woman came in for a medical abortion. As she was about to take the pill, she asked, “Do you think God hates me?” And I said, “No, he doesn’t hate you.” She said to me: “I tried so hard not to get pregnant. I told my boyfriend to use a condom, but he refused and forced himself on me.” If you overturn Roe v. Wade, what’s going to happen is we’ll go back to the way it was before. Every state for themselves. And best believe that the conservative states are going to try to outdo each other. Poor women will suffer. Poor women will die. There’s a generation of abortion providers who are more willing to be vocal about the impact of these different legislative measures. I tell my learners, “I don’t expect you to provide abortion care, but I want you to support your co-worker if they say, ‘Hey, we need a piece of legislation.’ I want you to stand behind us. But most importantly, I want you to be able to counsel and educate your patient in a way that respects her decision.” If I can train 500 providers who are compassionate and willing to respect and help their patients, I’ve done my job.

Anonymous, OB/GYN and a former fellow with Physicians for Reproductive Health, What Abortion in America Looks Like Right Now (via quigonejinn)

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Reblog every time!

What’s your Thanksgiving song?

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In 2016, there have been 26 known murders of trans people in the U.S. — more than half of them Black women. This number already surpasses the number of reported murders in 2015. On Transgender Day of Remembrance, we mourn and honor the trans-identified people who’ve been killed because of their gender identity or expression.

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On top of old smokey all covered in cheese I lost poor sweetheart to chronic disease.

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This has been a week. I have a million open charts at work and unreviewed labs that I need to get through today, but I am still paralyzed. And really it doesn’t even compare to 9/11, but the world seems so changed like there is the same sense of a clear line of before and after. I am scared for my Arab husband and his family. I am afraid of the shadow that will hang over our trip overseas to visit them in January, and the anxiety of returning from a Muslim country 2 days after inauguration. 

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Studies have shown that nurses with master’s level training offer care in many primary care settings that is as good as and sometimes better than care given by physicians, who generally have far more extensive training. And patients often express higher satisfaction with care delivered by nurses, studies show. Physicians say they are better at recognizing rare problems, something studies have trouble measuring.

Gardiner Harris, The New York Times (via brevibloc)

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National heartbreak for approx 50% of the population is apparently making me post to tumblr more than one in a year... I requested the day off months ago figuring I'd be recovering from the celebration, but for the next 10 hours while my husband (24-hour cycle obsessed guy) is a work I will be parked here watching Gilmore Girls on Netflix. I might wash dishes and fold laundry but I'm not committing to it.

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Also phone is in airplane mode as of.... now.

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Took my last ambien and am going to bed now....

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I'm only at work today because I get admin time on Monday afternoons, so thanking god for the no shows so far this morning

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Saturday deep thoughts

I bet that every minute of everyday somebody somewhere is listening to a Beyoncé song... the sun never sets in the Bey empire.

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When I was in college, a teacher once said that all women live by a ‘rape schedule.’ I was baffled by the term, but as she went on to explain, I got really freaked out. Because I realized that I knew exactly what she was talking about. And you do too. Because of their constant fear of rape (conscious or not), women do things throughout the day to protect themselves. Whether it’s carrying our keys in our hands as we walk home, locking our car doors as soon as we get in, or not walking down certain streets, we take precautions. While taking precautions is certainly not a bad idea, the fact that certain things women do are so ingrained into our daily routines is truly disturbing. It’s essentially like living in a prison – all the time. We can’t assume that we’re safe anywhere: not on the streets, not in our homes. And we’re so used to feeling unsafe that we don’t even see that there’s something seriously fucked up about it.

Jessica Valenti, Full Frontal Feminism (via queer-feminist-quotes)

I should send this to my husband next time he asks me why I don't double lock the door. It locks automatically and our apartment is right by the front door so if some follows me in I want to have a quick entry and slam ready not fumbling with multiple keys being vulnerable... his reply is always something like,"but the tv and computers are in there" or "what about our stuff?"

Oh to be a white male....

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It makes most people uncomfortable when they are called out on their bull shit, but this is also pretty funny.

And, yep pretty much my twenties summed up here, except Lena Dunham wasn't a thing yet and Taylor Swift was a country music singer.

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God I love Linda

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Treat this week like it's your last.

Some friendly Monday advice on Instagram. If this were my last week on earth I assure you I wouldn't be spending it at work, so your advice is not really useful for me right now with my level of debt.

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My feeling on my career right now #istillexisteventhoughineverpostontumblr

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