Abortion Training for Current and Future Providers
Summary
In 2025, Ipas committed to expanding abortion care access in some of the most restrictive states in the United States by training at least 625 medical providers—including students, residents, emergency physicians, nurse practitioners, and midwives—through 25 training sessions by 2028. Focusing on Southern states, Ipas will tailor each training to the specific legal landscape and provider needs, using pre-training surveys to guide content. Sessions will include Ipas’ signature Values Clarification for Action and Transformation exercises to address personal and systemic barriers to abortion care. Drawing on its global experience in restrictive settings, Ipas will bring international trainers to support U.S. providers. Additionally, at least 24 U.S. medical residents will receive hands-on clinical training at Ipas-supported clinics abroad, gaining essential experience that is increasingly difficult to access domestically. This initiative builds on successful pilots, including a recent collaboration with Medical Students for Choice in Louisiana, and will continue refining its approach through upcoming trainings in Texas.
Approach
Ipas commits to expand access to abortion care by training at least 625 current and future medical providers–including medical students, residents, emergency physicians, nurse practitioners, and certified nurse midwives–through 25 training sessions by 2028, prioritizing Southern states with abortion restrictions. Additionally, at least 24 U.S. medical residents will receive hands-on clinical training at Ipas-trained clinics abroad, providing them with exposure to high-quality abortion care in real-world settings.
Ipas will leverage its vast network and deep experience in global restrictive settings, bringing provider trainers from these regions to train providers and medical students in similar settings within the U.S. Curricula will be tailored to the legal landscape of each state responding directly to needs identified by providers and medical students through pre-training surveys. Trainings will include Ipas’s signature Values Clarification for Action and Transformation exercises, an important tool for identifying and challenging values that hinder access to safe abortion care. This model has been successfully piloted with Medical Students for Choice in Louisiana and will be further refined through upcoming trainings in Texas.
In the second and third years of the project, Ipas will partner with Access Bridge and other groups to identify at least 12 U.S. medical residents per year to travel to Ipas-trained clinics in Argentina or Colombia for hands-on clinical training. As medical residents interested in providing abortion find it increasingly difficult to gain clinical practice in U.S. clinics, Ipas is uniquely positioned to help fill this gap.
Ipas believes that effective, equitable and intersectional partnerships are central to achieving a sustainable abortion ecosystem. It will work alongside organizations and groups with deep networks to identify and reach providers and future providers. By scaling this effort through collaborative partnerships, Ipas is not only supporting existing health systems, but also equipping a new generation of skilled and confident providers to meet the current moment, sustaining and expanding abortion access in even the most challenging environments.
Action Plan
In 2025, Ipas and Medical Students for Choice will continue and expand their partnership, providing two Manual Vacuum Aspiration workshops at the Latino Medical School Association’s annual conference during quarter three. It will also conduct trainings for medical and nurse practitioner students in Dallas, Texas and in Louisiana with medical residents and nursing staff at the Women’s Hospital in Baton Rouge. In the fourth quarter of this year, Ipas will provide Manual Vacuum Aspiration workshops at Medical Students for Choice’s annual conference. Ipas and Medical Students for Choice will also begin conducting a thorough national mapping to determine training needs to prioritize medical schools based on immediate need, legal risk considerations, and appetite of respective Medical Students for Choice chapters.
In 2026, Ipas will conduct at least five trainings in the U.S. with providers and future providers and will work with Access Bridge and other partners to plan for the launch of medical resident externships abroad in 2027.
In 2027, another 10 trainings in the U.S. will be conducted with providers and future providers. Additionally, at least 12 U.S. medical residents will travel to Ipas-trained clinics in Argentina or Colombia for hands-on training and clinical practice in obstetric teaching programs.
In 2028, at least 10 U.S. trainings will be carried out and an additional 12 U.S. medical residents will receive clinical training at an Ipas-trained model facility outside the U.S.
Background
Abortion care is an essential component of comprehensive reproductive healthcare, and access to safe and legal abortion is a key factor in reducing maternal death and complications across the US and globally. The Dobbs Supreme Court decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade, has created a fragmented and increasingly hostile environment for abortion domestically.
Abortion restrictions and bans imposed by states have impacted not only physicians who provide abortion care, but also medical trainees (including residents and students) and advanced practice clinicians (nurse practitioners, certified nurse midwives, and physician assistants) . Current providers, including physicians and advanced practice clinicians, face significant barriers to maintaining or expanding their abortion care skills, contributing to a growing provider shortage and harm to patients. Moreover, the American Association of Medical Colleges reports that in states with abortion bans, emergency doctors are left confused by the laws and grappling with their duty to provide care, delaying necessary and sometimes life-saving treatment.
At the same time, future providers are not receiving foundational knowledge and exposure to abortion care resulting in a growing crisis: a generation of healthcare providers are graduating without the skills, knowledge, and/or clinical experience needed to provide comprehensive reproductive healthcare, including abortion.
A study published in Contraception in 2024 found that after the Dobbs decision, 14% of residency programs lost in-state abortion training. Even more notable is that in states in which abortion is legal, nearly half of the residency programs lacked routine abortion training despite supportive legislation. Additionally, in May 2024, the Association of American Medical Colleges released figures showing that states with abortion bans saw a 6.7% drop in obstetrics and gynecology applicants from the previous application cycle, whereas states without abortion restrictions saw a 0.4% increase in obstetrics and gynecology applicants.
These trends paint a troubling picture for the future of abortion access, eroding the provider workforce especially in states with restrictive laws and limited to no training opportunities.
Progress Update
Partnership Opportunities
While Ipas is uniquely qualified to address the crucial needs around expanding abortion training and access, Ipas is seeking additional funding resources to implement identified strategies, and grow and scale the program. Additionally, Ipas seeks partners with abortion provider networks in the Southern & Southeastern region, as well as legal groups in these regions that can partner on local trainings and potentially serve as facilitators for certain training components. Ipas is also prioritizing connections with networks or organizations of advance practice clinicians.,Ipas offers a wealth of best practice information on reproductive health and rights. Specifically, Ipas has over fifty years of experience expanding abortion access in diverse and adverse contexts and can provide best practices in advancing reproductive justice in a range of settings globally. Ipas also has over two decades of experience delivering its signature “values clarification for action and transformation” (VCAT) workshops to encourage health providers, policymakers, and others to reflect on their values and attitudes toward abortion and consider the consequences when abortion access is not available. Ipas continues to adapt the training given the changing landscape and can support others to bring these to their communities or incorporate these into their programming.