The Anniversary That Demands Our Action: AMSAReproductive Health Project eNews #52 鈥� August 16, 2025
Greetings from the AMSAReproductive Health Project!
As we move into the last third of summer, we are now just days away from the 105th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment to the US Constitution, which prohibited the US and constituent states from denying citizens the right to vote on the basis of sex. The amendment effectively recognized women鈥檚 right to vote. Of course, we know well that even with the constitutional amendment in place, the expansion of the right to vote was largely limited to white women. Black women, Indigenous women, and Latina women (and Black men, whose right to vote was technically recognized in the 15th Amendment) were prevented from exercising their right to vote through combinations of discriminatory state laws, poll taxes, literacy tests, intimidation, and violence. It would be several more years and even decades before these barriers were reduced or removed through additional legislation, most significantly, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which declared racial discrimination in voting illegal.
Here we are in 2025 and we are witnessing a relentless rollback of legal protections for the universal right to vote. We must be clear in why this is: in the United States, we have not yet adequately addressed the reality that far too many white people are more allegiant to the ideology of white supremacy than to the vision of multi-racial democracy; far too many white people are more invested in maintaining their iron grip on the economic spoils of stolen wealth, stolen labor,and聽 stolen lives than in the promise of collective thriving through economic justice.
We鈥檝e been thinking a lot recently about solidarity as the necessary practice of the intersectional movements for universal human rights, justice, and collective liberation. The Reproductive Justice Movement calls all of us to solidarity, but solidarity can only be authentic when we acknowledge that no one鈥檚 rights can be sacrificed for some dubious claim to a 鈥済reater good鈥� (often patronizingly expressed as, “You’ll just have to wait your turn鈥�). This is hardly a new notion. As far back as ancient scriptures, humans have understood that justice delayed is justice denied. In this month in which we recognize both the power of solidarity and our tendencies to fall far short of true solidarity, let鈥檚 acknowledge that solidarity is something that we can recommit ourselves to every day.
As Martin Luther King Jr. said,
鈥淲e are鈥� caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment聽 of destiny.
Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly鈥澛犅�
鈥淲e must recognize that we can鈥檛 solve our problem now until there is a radical redistribution of economic and political power鈥�
this means a revolution of values and other things.
We must see now that the evils of racism, economic exploitation and militarism are all tied together鈥�
you can鈥檛 really get rid of one without getting rid of the others鈥� 鈥�
Written by Araam Abboud, MS, AMSAReproductive Health Project Intern
Abortion providers do more than deliver essential healthcare鈥攖hey advocate, educate, and push back against the stigma that surrounds their work. I had the honor of speaking to Dr.Kristyn Brandi, an OB-GYN and Complex Family Planning subspecialist, who has dedicated her career to ensuring patients receive compassionate, evidence-based care while also training the next generation of providers. In our conversation, she shares her journey into abortion care, the challenges she鈥檚 faced, and what keeps her going in a field that is as rewarding as it is demanding.
Araam: To start off, could you tell us a little bit about yourself鈥攚here you’re from and what you do now?
Dr. Brandi: Sure! My name is Kristyn Brandi, and my pronouns are she/her/ella. I was born and raised in New Jersey, and I still live and provide clinical care here.
I’m an OB-GYN and a Complex Family Planning subspecialist. I also consider myself a reproductive justice and reproductive autonomy advocate, and I do research and work in education鈥攕pecifically in training the next generation of abortion providers.
Araam: We love that! I鈥檇 love to hear about what first inspired you to become an abortion provider.
Dr. Brandi: I鈥檝e always been interested in human rights and social justice, so I was drawn to abortion care as a concept, but I didn鈥檛 know much about it clinically or how it actually happened.
When I started medical school, I got involved with AMSAand Medical Students for Choice, and I assumed that when I became a “serious doctor,” I鈥檇 have to set that aside. But then I found OB-GYN to be the perfect marriage of healthcare and social justice.
There was a specific moment that really solidified my decision. I remember working with a patient who was there for an abortion due to a fetal anomaly. She was devastated鈥攕he didn鈥檛 want to be there, but she knew this was the best decision for her and her child. And yet, the nurses barely wanted to be in the room with her. They didn鈥檛 want to talk to her because she was having an abortion.
It was awful. These were nurses I respected, people I knew provided excellent care
鈥攂ut in that moment, they let stigma override their compassion.聽
I never wanted patients to feel ostracized or neglected like that. If someone needs care, they should be able to access it with dignity and respect. That experience shaped a lot of my work, especially in marginalized care, and abortion has always been central to that.
Araam: Wow. Did you feel like you had a lot of exposure to abortion care in medical school?
Dr. Brandi: I was lucky. My fourth-year elective let me shadow and actually perform a few first-trimester procedures, which was eye-opening and inspiring. After that, I was all in鈥攍ike, sign me up, what do I need to do?
I was also fortunate to attend a residency program where abortion training was part of the core curriculum. That made all the difference. I know that鈥檚 not the case for many, so I recognize how lucky I was to have that exposure early on.
Araam: Has your perspective on abortion care changed over time?
Dr. Brandi: Not really, but my understanding of how institutions approach abortion care has evolved.
I did my medical school and residency in New Jersey, where we have relatively liberal laws. But even though abortion was legal, it wasn鈥檛 necessarily openly discussed. We provided care, but it was still hush-hush. No one really talked about it.
When I went to Boston for fellowship, I noticed a huge difference in the culture. There, we openly said the word abortion instead of using euphemisms like 鈥渢ermination of pregnancy.鈥� There was no hesitation or discomfort鈥攊t was just part of normal healthcare, and that was refreshing.
Since then, I鈥檝e worked in various spaces鈥攁cademic institutions, Planned Parenthoods, independent clinics鈥攁nd they all approach abortion differently. Even in supportive states, there are layers of stigma embedded in the system. And of course, I鈥檝e done training in restricted states, where the challenges are even greater.
Araam: What are some of the biggest challenges you鈥檝e faced as an abortion provider?
Dr. Brandi: Legitimacy.
Abortion has long been ostracized in medicine. Before Roe, abortion was illegal, and providers were often depicted as shady, untrustworthy people. Those tropes never fully went away, and anti-choice rhetoric continues to push the idea that abortion doctors are greedy, unskilled, or bottom-of-the-class physicians.
That鈥檚 simply not true. I trained extensively for this. I have the same credentials as anyone else in my field,
and I approach my work with the same compassion and commitment to patient autonomy.
I think all of us in medicine struggle with imposter syndrome to some degree, but for abortion providers, it鈥檚 compounded by societal stigma. For a long time, I felt like I had to prove that I was a real doctor. But the truth is, not many OB-GYNs can perform second-trimester D&Es or provide complex abortion care.聽
My expertise is valuable, and I鈥檝e learned to wear that as a badge of honor.
Araam: That鈥檚 such an important point. And your work is incredible. How do you maintain your emotional resilience?
Dr. Brandi: I remind myself that if I don鈥檛 do this, who will?
Every time I face challenges鈥攚hether it’s systemic barriers, stigma, or personal doubts
鈥擨 think back to that patient no one wanted to care for. If I don鈥檛 provide this care, who will?
If we all gave up, there would be no resistance left.
I also try to focus on the wins. Even when things feel overwhelming, I remind myself that every patient I help, every trainee I support, every stigma I push back against鈥攊t all matters.
Araam: What do you wish more people understood about abortion care and the providers who offer it?
Dr. Brandi: That abortion is normal.
People seeking abortions come from all walks of life. There鈥檚 no single 鈥渢ype鈥� of person who gets an abortion. I鈥檝e provided care to people who say, 鈥淚 don鈥檛 believe in abortion, but I need this.鈥� And my response is always: your abortion is just as valid as everyone else鈥檚.
Abortion providers are also diverse. People have a specific image in their minds of who provides abortion care, but we don鈥檛 all fit that mold. Many of us are deeply connected to the communities we serve. We do this work because we believe in it. And let鈥檚 be honest鈥攖here are far more lucrative medical specialties.聽
People who provide abortions do it because they care, not because it鈥檚 easy or profitable.
Araam: What does Abortion Provider Appreciation Day mean to you?
Dr. Brandi: It鈥檚 complicated.
It actually falls on my birthday, which feels like a sign鈥擨 was literally born to do this work.
But the day itself is rooted in tragedy. It marks the anniversary of the first abortion provider killed for doing this work. That鈥檚 sobering. It reminds me how dangerous this job can be, how real the threats are.
At the same time, I love that people have reclaimed it as a celebration鈥攁n opportunity to honor those who
have laid their lives on the line for this work, and to uplift the future generation of providers.
Araam: Speaking of the next generation, if you could leave one message for future abortion providers, what would it be?
Dr. Brandi: Don鈥檛 listen to the noise.
There鈥檚 so much noise around abortion right now鈥攎isinformation, stigma, political attacks. It鈥檚 heavy. Even in personal conversations with friends and family, it can be exhausting.
But that鈥檚 not why you鈥檙e here. You鈥檙e here because you believe in this work.
Focus on that. Keep pushing forward. The world needs you.
Araam: That鈥檚 such a powerful message. Thank you so much for this conversation!
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