Postgraduate Courses
Clark Johnson, MD, MPH (he/him/his)
Division Director-Maternal Fetal Medicine Assistant Professor
Sinai Hospital in Baltimore/ Johns Hopkins/ George Washington University
Johns Hopkins University
George Washington University
Baltimore, MD, United States
Justin Lappen, MD
Division Director - Maternal Fetal Medicine
Associate Professor - Obstetrics/Gynecology and Reproductive Biology
Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University
Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Cleveland, Ohio, United States
Leilah Zahedi-Spung, MD
Assistant Professor
University of Colorado Department of OBGYN
Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
Following the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturning Roe v Wade and eliminating federal constitutional protections for abortion, Maternal Fetal Medicine subspecialists are navigating a challenging landscape of inequitable patient access to abortion care that has upended established pathways for patient care, referral, and clinical training. As highlighted in the Reproductive Health Services Workshop Report (AJOG 2020), women at high risk for maternal morbidity and mortality have unique needs for comprehensive reproductive health services, including abortion. Maternal Fetal Medicine subspecialists have a distinct role in increasing access to reproductive health services on multiple fronts, including through institutional advocacy, health policy, and the direct provision of abortion care; however, numerous barriers already prevented MFM physicians from achieving these goals and providing evidence-based and necessary care, and these barriers have increased in many states since the court’s decision. This postgraduate course, led by the Reproductive Health Project for Maternal-Fetal Medicine, will be a half-day workshop focused on providing MFM physicians with critical tools to address reproductive health care needs for patients in their home institutions and states and the skills and resources to manage the uncertainty and emotional challenges likely to result from this rapidly changing policy and practice environment. This course will include interactive discussions regarding: how to tackle complex cases, taking into consideration bans and other barriers to care and changing referral pathways; addressing the emotional and professional toll that providing and advocating for abortion care can have on clinicians and providing tools and resources for managing these burdens; and highlighting proactive policy, clinical network development, and advocacy at the institutional, regional, state, and federal levels. The course will also provide an opportunity for networking with MFM physicians, Family Planning providers, and policy and legal experts
Presenter: Clark T. Johnson, MD, MPH (he/him/his) – Sinai Hospital in Baltimore/ Johns Hopkins/ George Washington University Johns Hopkins University George Washington University
Presenter: Justin R. Lappen, MD – Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Presenter: Leilah Zahedi-Spung, MD – University of Colorado Department of OBGYN
Presenter: Skye Perryman, JD (she/her/hers) – Democracy Forward
Presenter: David N. Hackney, MD (he/him/his) – Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center
Presenter: Ashish Premkumar, MD (he/him/his) – University of Chicago
Panelist: Clark T. Johnson, MD, MPH (he/him/his) – Sinai Hospital in Baltimore/ Johns Hopkins/ George Washington University Johns Hopkins University George Washington University
Panelist: Justin R. Lappen, MD – Cleveland Clinic Foundation
Panelist: Leilah Zahedi-Spung, MD – University of Colorado Department of OBGYN