University of Connecticut Medical Students for Choice received the Ellen Paradise Fisher Award for Activism in Action for their work in reproductive justice.
The UConn Medical Students for Choice is an independent chapter of a nationally recognized nonprofit network that is dedicated to ensuring women receive all reproductive health care choices. The UConn chapter consists of around 30 members and is based at UConn Health in Farmington.
The UConn chapter received the award for their work they have completed through their partnership with the REACH Fund, Connecticut’s abortion fund. The award was given by Reproductive Equity Now, an organization that is dedicated to advancing reproductive justice and eliminating barriers to safe, legal abortion care for all in New England, according to their mission statement.
The group received the award at the Reproductive Equity Now Gala in Boston last week, where they were able to meet people who are committed to reproductive justice space.
Claire Surkis, UConn Medical Students for Choice president, said their group was honored to receive the award after raising money for the Reach Fund and partnering with the Wesleyan Doula Project this year.
“We partnered with the Wesleyan Doula Project this year and got seven of our medical students trained as abortion doulas, and so we are thrilled about that,” Surkis said. “What that entails is having some of our med students go into clinics to provide emotional support for patients who are going through their procedure.”
Surkis said they have partnered with Reproductive Equity Now to provide testimony at the state legislature, as well as hosting educational events about IUD insertions and aspiration abortion procedures.
As for future goals, Surkis said they hope to continue working with their partnerships and expanding opportunities to more medical students in the future, with a focus of increasing education about reproductive justice.
“The goal that we have going forward that we haven’t been able to achieve yet is trying to get more education about reproductive justice in the med school curriculum, because we think it’s really, really important,” Surkis said.
Surkis will continue in her president role next year and hopes that with some new leadership coming into their e board, they will be able to achieve their goals in curriculum development.
“We’re essentially a bunch of medical students who really care a lot about reproductive justice and want to see reproductive justice in our community and in our clinics and try to educate our peers about these things,” Surkis said.
For those interested in getting involved in their work, Surkis suggests reaching out to different existing community organizations, whether that’s an abortion fund, a doula service, or advocacy organization like Reproductive Equity Now or Planned Parenthood.
“I know I felt that way when I was in college, and it was hard for me to find roles that allowed me to feel like I was making a difference. So reaching out to the different existing community organizations and seeing how you can contribute is huge,” Surkis said. “They’re always eager to have people get involved and it’s really fulfilling work.”
For those who want to learn more about UConn Medical Students for Choice or to learn about ways to get involved, email surkis@uchc.edu.