June Contest Theme

The Impact of Decisions

As we approach the three-year mark of the U.S. Supreme Court decision that overturned nearly 50 years of federal protection for abortion care, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the impact of this decision continues to shape conversations about medical decision-making, patient autonomy, physician practice, and the role of politics in healthcare. Abortion care is now totally banned in 12 states and deeply restricted in 29 more states. Since the decision we’ve also seen voters in 13 states vote to add protections for abortion care to their state constitutions (5 in 2022 and 7 in 2024).  

Even in states where abortion care remains legal, the Court’s decision has also begun impacting future physicians. Across the country people who’ve grown up with the dream of becoming physicians are weighing the impact of the Dobbs decision as they decide: which states they will apply to attend college and medical school, which states they will apply to residency and fellowship programs, and where they will seek to establish practices upon completion of their training? The Dobbs decision has also impacted the way patients and providers both think about patient care, trust, and the boundaries of government intervention in medicine.

Our June Essay Contest invites AMSA members to reflect on how they, as future physicians, can support their patients’ decisions in the exam room—free from political influence—while considering how landmark rulings like Dobbs have reshaped their approach to decision-making, not only in reproductive care but also in other aspects of life. How do political and legal changes influence your medical education, your community, and your understanding of ethical patient care? What is the impact of these decisions on both a personal and professional level? 

• Submission Deadline Sunday, May 25, 2025 at 11:59pmPT
• June Contest Winners – will be notified by June 17 and announced publicly June 24, 2025

Submit Essays Here

August Contest Theme

Abortion Care Solidarity

Solidarity has long been a driving force in movements for justice, from voting rights to reproductive freedom. The ratification of the 19th Amendment in 1920 marked a significant victory for women’s rights in the U.S., but it did not extend voting rights to all women. Black women, Indigenous women, Asian immigrants, and Latina women continued to face systemic barriers due to racist laws and policies. In the 1960-70’s in Chicago, women in Jane united in solidarity providing over 11,000 underground abortions to those in need until the Roe decision. In 1994, during the height of the Clinton Administration’s efforts to reform health care, Black women gathered in Chicago outlining what was at stake for them and their communities, leading to the development of the Reproductive Justice framework. This history serves as a reminder that true equity is not achieved through legal victories alone—it requires ongoing, collective action.

Today, as we face persistent and emerging threats to abortion rights and reproductive justice, we recognize that solidarity around abortion care is essential. This contest invites AMSA members to explore what solidarity in abortion and reproductive health care looks like: 

• How can future physicians, healthcare providers, and advocates come together to protect and expand abortion access for diverse communities? 
• What can we learn from past and present movements for justice to build a more inclusive and equitable future for reproductive rights? 
• How can future physicians play a role in ensuring compassionate, accessible abortion care?

Essays should reflect on the power of collective action, the intersections of health equity and justice, and the responsibilities of those involved in medical education, training, and practice to make meaningful contributions to the fight for reproductive freedom.

Abortion Care Solidarity Resource to Explore – link

• Submission Deadline – Sunday, July 13, 2025 at 11:59pmPT
• August Contest Winners – will be notified by August 11 and announced publicly August 18, 2025

Submit Essays Here

September Contest Theme

Breaking Down Abortion Care Stigma

Abortion care stigma remains one of the biggest barriers to accessing safe and compassionate reproductive health care. Misinformation, cultural taboos, and restrictive policies continue to fuel shame, silence, and fear around abortion care, impacting patients, providers, and communities alike. As future physicians, medical students have a unique role in dismantling these barriers, advocating for evidence-based care, and ensuring that abortion care is recognized as an essential part of healthcare.

In recognition of September 28, International Safe Abortion Day, this essay contest invites medical students to explore the role of healthcare professionals in breaking down abortion care stigma. 

• How do societal attitudes and institutional policies contribute to stigma, and how can medical professionals work to shift these narratives? 
• What strategies can be used to normalize abortion care in medical education, clinical practice, and public discourse? 
• How have you, or those around you, witnessed or experienced abortion stigma, and what role does solidarity play in overcoming it? 

Essays should reflect on the intersections of stigma, access, and advocacy while exploring how future physicians can help build a culture of respect, empathy, and reproductive justice that recognizes abortion care and those who provide that care as essential to our communities.

Abortion Care Stigma Resource to Explore: What is abortion stigma? 

• Submission Deadline – Sunday, September 7, 2025 at 11:59pmPT
• September Contest Winners – will be notified by September 22 and announced publicly September 28, 2025

Submit Essays Here

SUMMER 2025 ESSAY CONTEST GUIDELINES: 

Submission Requirements: The AMSA Reproductive Health Project Summer 2025 Essay Contests are open to All AMSA members. Essay content MUST have a U.S. focus or context. Submissions must be an original, unpublished essay of no more than 750 words and must be written in English. Members may submit 1 essay for each of the three Contests, but authors who submit essays in multiple contests can win only 1 prize during this Summer 2025 Essay Contest Series. 

Publication/Promotion: Prizes will be awarded to selected essay authors for each of the 3 contests in the Summer 2025 series.  Winners for the first contest will be announced publicly June 24, August 18, September 28, 2025.

Selection Criteria: A panel of judges, to include a mix of medical students, AMSA Reproductive Health Project Mentors and Staff will review submissions from each competition and select 3 winning essays for each of the 3 contests in the Summer 2025 series. Essays will be judged on the following equally weighted criteria:

• Content and connection to the topic 
• Quality of writing and clarity of thought
• Novelty of the message
• Opportunity for others to learn

Questions: Email rhp@amsa.org

Issue Education Teach-In Topics Include:

• The History of Abortion: Roots of Stigma, Opportunities for Change
• Abortion as a Moral & Social Good: The Ethical Basis for Conscientious Provision of Abortion Care
• Religious & Spiritual Affirmation of Abortion
• Men & Abortion – Feminist Frameworks for Male/Masc Abortion Rights Allies
• Fetal Personhood & Criminalizing Pregnancy
• Physicians as Enforcers: Urine Drug Screens, Mandated Reporting & Criminalization of Pregnant People
• Anti-abortion Laws & Maternal Mortality: Turning the Tide
• Birth Justice – A Framework for Improving U.S. Health Outcomes by Uniting Physicians, Midwives & Doulas 
• Reproductive Justice: A Movement & Framework for Equitable Health Care

To learn more & arrange a customized, no cost teach-in complete this – Interest Form 

• Effective Communication about Abortion Care: What & How We Talk Matters
• Lifting Your Voice: Writing Compelling LTEs,OpEds & Blog Posts
• Building Relationships with Reproductive Freedom Champions in Your State
• Understanding How Bills Become Laws & Regulations Govern Physician Practice
• Finding & Sharing Change-maker Stories in Your Community
• Translating Data & Research Findings into Policy Recommendations
• Designing & Presenting Compelling Research Projects

To learn more & arrange a customized, no cost teach-in complete this – Interest Form 

Stay tuned for details coming soon!

AMSA Reproductive Health Scholars Program
Fall 2024 – Now Closed

AMSA strives to empower physicians-in-training to effect change through education and advocacy. AMSA Scholars Programs are designed to provide medical and premed students with information not covered in traditional medical school curriculum and to foster an online learning community of future physicians.

The AMSA Reproductive Health Scholars Program addresses the “hidden curriculum” in medical school and prepare students to think critically about abortion-related and education and training opportunities. At the end of the program, participants develop a project utilizing the knowledge gained from the course. The projects are an application of their new skills, as well as a professional development opportunity in the participant’s school or community. Throughout the experience, participants gain valuable mentorship from their Course Directors, fellow Scholars, and partner organizations to enhance their projects.

Topics this program addresses:

• Diversity & Equity in Abortion Access & Our Healthcare Workforce
• Basic Clinical Overview of First & Second Trimester Abortion
• Protecting Reproductive Health: State & Federal Laws that Impact Access & Care
• Reproductive Justice: Framework & Advocacy
• Options Counseling & Values Clarification in Reproductive Care
• Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, & Choice
• When Routine Training is Unethical & Becomes Illegal: The Case of Intimate Exams for Teaching Purposes

For more information please email rhp@amsa.org

Note: Students attending an international medical schools who are either U.S. citizens or intend to practice in the US may register with the understanding our program focus is on U.S. abortion policy and practice and is not designed to address policy or practice outside the U.S.

Program Description:

Developed in partnership between the AMSA Reproductive Health Project and the RJ Med Ed Project of the University of Michigan Medical School, this virtual elective for U.S. and international medical students (in particular, medical students pursuing family medicine or ob/gyn) will center Reproductive Justice (RJ) as a human-rights framework for exploring topics related to reproductive health and abortion care, including approaches to RJ-informed and trauma-informed patient care. The course will present reproductive health education with a focus on the interconnections of power, privilege, oppression, and resistance. Students will engage with critical social theories – including Critical Race Theory, Intersectional Feminism, and Queer Theory – to explore, interrogate, and reflect on the complex sociocultural, medico-legal, and politico-economic context of sexual and reproductive health.

The program is grounded in a pedagogy of liberatory education (Paulo Freire; bell hooks), and in a commitment to practicing an ethics of Love-centered educational care for adult learners that help us create and sustain deeper relationships within intentional communities.

This course will cover healthcare delivery including family planning and abortion care in a post-Roe reality. Even though this is a non-clinical elective, we will significantly incorporate approaches to patient care that are loving and affirmative of the universal human right to bodily autonomy, agency, and dignity, with a focus on correcting and repairing medicine’s ethical failures to honor the bodily autonomy, agency, and dignity of women and femme people generally, and especially Indigenous and Black women, and queer and trans people.