Dr. Tiller's death this summer is a news story that captivated the nation and served as a forum for discussions about abortion and the challenges that doctors face in America. In many of the medical ethics classes that I've taken at Brown University abortion is discussed in context of the pro-life and pro-choice sectors of the population; however, I've never heard it discussed in terms of the doctor's role.
Last year as I walked past the med school there were anti-abortion activists dressed in white coats handing out information about abortions, presumably because Brown allows students who are interested in learning about the procedure procure the knowledge. While I'm not sure that it is a technique that I would personally desire to learn (in spite of supporting the legalization of abortion) I think that it's important that so long as the practice remains legal that schools offer students the opportunity to learn it.
Reading about Tiller's significance in Kansas and the US, especially given that he was one of the few remaining doctors performing abortions, made the piece and his death even more tragic. I don't think that as future doctors we consider that our job comes with such tremendous risks, and realistically most of us won't be facing this type of controversy. Although abortion is obviously a heated topic in America, the media and ethics discussion rarely discuss the procedure in terms of the risks incurred by the doctors. I think that the tremendous sacrifice that doctors are willing to make to treat those that they believe are under served, whether they be in war zones or abortion clinics, is truly admirable.
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