October panel<\/a> left off, delving deeper into the real-world impact of political and legal restrictions on reproductive care. The panelist explored the vast challenges doctors face, the lives impacted by recent laws and what it means to continue fighting for access to healthcare in a constantly evolving environment. Students and faculty gathered, ready to listen and ask difficult questions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\u201cI came up with the idea for this panel because there is so much news surrounding reproductive rights today, and I wanted the Fieldston community to learn about how it affects different communities directly from OB\/GYNs experiencing it firsthand,\u201d shares Form V student and reproductive rights club co-leader Margot Pliska.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conversation opened with a powerful reminder from Dr. Cepin: \u201cAbortion is part of healthcare.\u201d She discussed situations where pregnancy can be dangerous or even life-threatening, describing several medical reasons why someone may need an abortion. \u201cA pregnancy might be complicated by cancer, where you need to start treatment, or you discover a genetic or anatomical anomaly that\u2019s not compatible with life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Friedman added a broader perspective: \u201cStats show that anywhere between 16% to 35% of homicides in pregnant women are due to intimate partner violence. So, social reasons matter too. Some women can\u2019t safely continue a pregnancy if they\u2019re in an abusive situation.\u201d But it is not merely about access, it is also about fear. In states with restrictive abortion laws, providers risk legal action for doing what used to be routine care. \u201cIt\u2019s putting providers in a position where they have to wait until it\u2019s life-threatening and be able to defend that versus having to think about going to jail,\u201d said Dr. Cepin. \u201cSo now there\u2019s this real, almost desert in certain areas where people don\u2019t want to practice because you have your family, things you care about, and I personally don\u2019t know if I could put myself in that position\u2014watching someone be so sick and not able to take care of them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
That disconnect between medicine and politics was underscored in discussions regarding ectopic pregnancies\u2014pregnancies that implant outside the uterus and are never viable. Dr. Friedman criticized lawmakers\u2019 medical ignorance. \u201cYou have absurd suggestions from legislators like \u2018move the pregnancy to a different location\u2019, which is something that doesn\u2019t make any sense.\u201d The panel also highlighted issues of equity, specifically the disproportionate toll of poor maternal health outcomes on racially diverse communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe current state of black maternal health did not become so in a vacuum. Black women in labor are, depending on where you look, three to four times more likely to die in some places, like in the Bronx, that number is even higher,\u201d explained Dr. Phillips. She adds how these disparities stem from the legacy of slavery and a healthcare system that historically devalued black people. Dr. Phillips then urged the attendees to research the term \u201csocial determinants,\u201d explaining how in this country, \u201cwe all live, pray, have hospitals very differently from one another. And this ongoing trend has continued to impact how black women receive and engage in the medical community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In her work abroad, Dr. Phillips has seen systems that challenge the assumption that the U.S. provides the best care. She explains how when she travels to countries like Cuba, she sees a \u201cfabulous system, even though we tend to look down at that island as a third world.\u201d She adds, \u201cTheir medical system and training is amazing, as are other countries we tend to look down on. America\u2019s one of the most, if not the most, dangerous places to have a baby when you look at all the quote unquote first world countries.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Cepin, who works closely with Latino communities in Washington Heights, tied health disparities to broader systemic issues. \u201c80% of health outcomes are tied to social determinants of health,\u201d she said. \u201cA lot of this came to light around COVID because it was the epicenter where people were of poor backgrounds living in multigenerational homes, essential workers had underlying conditions that made them work as they did not have a primary doctor\u2026So it was this grand awakening for people.\u201d She also described how even the language of equity is now under threat. \u201cGiven there are all these words we\u2019re not supposed to use anymore, how are we going to address these problems?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In response to a question regarding the causes behind black maternal mortality, Dr Phillips explained, \u201cIt\u2019s not genetic\u2026There is a bias in medicine. There is racism in medicine.\u201d She emphasizes how this is not always conscious but is systemically rooted. \u201cIt\u2019s just like that\u2026If one patient is wealthy, am I going to treat that patient more carefully than someone who is an undocumented immigrant, who just crossed over the border and is here alone?\u201d Dr. Phillips continues, \u201cI want to think I\u2019m providing the same, but is there a time where I\u2019m found prioritizing one life over another? We\u2019re all human, so probably. And that\u2019s why it\u2019s really important for us to put these systems in place\u2014to reduce harm caused by those biases.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The conversation took on a more urgent tone when a student asked, \u201cWhat can we do to help? Given that we\u2019re teenagers, and don\u2019t have any money or power\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr. Phillips replied, \u201cThere\u2019s a lot you can do. And listen, you\u2019re broke now, but you\u2019re not going to be broke your whole life.\u201d She adds, \u201cYour advocacy and activism grow with age.\u201d Dr. Phillips encourages students to speak up when someone says something inaccurate and to \u201cchallenge people who vote differently, donate, et cetera, on whatever their biases may be.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite legal challenges and funding cuts, Dr. Cepin explained how she remains motivated. \u201cIt\u2019s just gotten harder, but we\u2019re doing what we did before.\u201d She shares how she\u2019s gotten better at providing space for crying patients, but this does not come without challenges. \u201cWe walk into the next room, and they\u2019re mad because you\u2019re late and I\u2019m trying to explain that I would do that for you, too, if you were crying. And even if you\u2019re not today, maybe you will be next year.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The panel ended on a reflective note: \u201cTry to be thoughtful to your fellow humans. It\u2019s not a restaurant.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ultimately, the message was clear: the fight for reproductive rights is urgent and ongoing. At Fieldston, students are listening carefully, asking thoughtful questions and preparing to navigate a post-Dobbs climate.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
On Friday, April 11, Fieldston\u2019s Reproductive Rights Club hosted its second panel of the year\u2014a thought-provoking and educational conversation with three OB\/GYNs working at the frontlines of reproductive healthcare. The event brought together Dr. Kameelah Phillips (Calla Health), Dr. Rachel Friedman (Northwell Health) and Fieldston alumna Dr. Ana Cepin \u201891 (New York Presbyterian) to provide a clear view of the challenges patients and providers now face. The conversation resumed where a similar October panel left<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":358,"featured_media":11703,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[535,347,437,427,318],"tags":[],"coauthors":[553],"class_list":["post-11702","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-community","category-health","category-law","category-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/Screenshot-2025-05-12-at-5.22.50-PM-e1747084999586.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11702","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/358"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11702"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11702\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11704,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11702\/revisions\/11704"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/11703"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11702"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11702"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11702"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/fieldstonnews.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=11702"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}