PANACEA 2022

VOICES
P A N A C E A M A G A Z I N E
VOLUME 56 AMSA 2022 EDITION

ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF COUNTRY
The Australian Medical Students' Association would like to
acknowledge the traditional custodians of the land on
which this publication was made, the Wurundjeri people of
the Kulin nations. We recognise their continuing connection
to land, water and community and pay our respects to their
Elders past, present and emerging. We would also like to
extend our respect to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders
reading our publication.

Medical students today are deluged with
information. As a doctor, your job is to
apply that theory in real life patient
consultations. MEKSI makes it easier to train
for (and pass) your clinical exams.
MEKSI was created to make studying for medical
exams easier, more enjoyable and a lot less
stressful than it used to be.
MEKSI recreates highly realistic consultations using
AI-powered Virtual Standardised Patients, aligned
to Australian clinical guidelines for the highest
quality medical care.
fear of judgement by their peers, MEKSI uses
active learning to aid memory and refine clinical
skills.
So with MEKSI your time spent learning is more
efficient. All members of AMSA Med Ed will be
provided with free access to a customised library
of cases in the MEKSI learning platform.
Visit learnmeksi.com today to claim your free
account and immediately improve your chances of
passing with top marks, first time – every time!
Built for medical students wanting to practice their
clinical consultation skills by themselves, without
Create your free account
at learnmeksi.com

Dear Reader,
EDITOR'S WELCOME
Welcome to the 2022 Panacea publication! Nestled within these
pages, you will find an array of photographs, artwork and essays
carefully crafted by medical students. Each piece has a story to tell.
Sometimes in the whir and blur of social media and hubbub of our
daily lives, we forget to stop and listen to others. This edition hopes to
provide a platform for students to share their many voices and
reflections.
Thank you to all the contributors for your beautiful work, and a special
thank you to our readers for your support.
Kind regards,
AMSA Publications and Design Team
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Panacea 2022 designed by Shani (PDO 2023)
Panacea 2022 edited by Reece (PDO 2022)

Contents
Page
Number
Submission
6 Moments (by Devanga Tangri)
7 Floral Anatomy (by Kasundri Kulasinghe)
8
Domestic Violence: The Lesser Known
Pandemic (by Bianca Crowder)
10
The Unspoken Burden: Gender Discrimination in
Med School (by Laura McDuff)
12
The United States Supreme Court overturned
Roe v. Wade. What does this mean for the
United States and the world? (by Mansi
Tiwary & Afreen Akbany)
17
50 Shades of Adipose Tissue (by Abdikarim
Said Abdullah)
18 Photograph (photographed by Alyce Finch)

Moments
By Devangna Tangri
In medicine, everyone is sick. Patients to
me are a constant reminder that my life is
just as fragile as theirs. They are people I
would know as my neighbour, my cashier
at Woolies, my friend, my family member;
me. Now they’re here, in a small hospital
bed with a portable TV screen and desk
with their strangely artificial looking
hospital food resting on top. One minute
ago they were living a normal life. Now
they’re a hospital patient with an arm band
and an annoying cannula the medical
student hesitantly requested to insert.
They’re sat here in their identical blue
gowns (those who can sit up comfortably)
with their entire lives just resting quietly in
our hands. Our hands! Mine, in a few
years! One minute they’re with us, but we
come back the next day and hear from
someone that overnight, something
happened, now they’re dead. I always
hear that life is impermanent, but being
here, I see it. If I didn’t already find this
career beautiful, I would hate every
second of it. So why is it beautiful, despite
everything?
"Medicine is beautiful
because it is a family"
I’ve only been a clinical student for 4
months, but I have learnt things I wasn’t
expecting. The first is perspective. For
one, my life isn’t mine. It isn’t any of ours,
but given to us. That’s why it’s only fair
that eventually, whoever gave it to us,
takes it back. We’re all living on borrowed
time, and the whole meaning of life is to
decide what we want to do with our time.
I’ve decided to dedicate my life to helping
other people be their best for the time
they’ve been given. Medicine is beautiful
because it teaches you about time, and
life.
During a tutorial, I asked a senior
consultant about why she decided to
become a surgeon. She explained to me
that it was different to how people
described it to her when she was my age;
‘no work life balance’, ‘no family’, ‘they’re
basically just plumbers.’ Instead, she
literally used the word ‘magic’ to describe
the feeling of seeing her patients improve,
knowing she’d been the one to remove
their breast cancer or repair their hernia.
She told me that she was my people, her
and all the other frightening senior doctors
I’d normally steer clear of. She told me to
know, always, that these were the people
who knew what I was going through,
because they had all been third year
medical students before. I felt belonging,
at that moment, not only to her, but to all
doctors everywhere. We have an
understanding, a shared experience, a
pact that we’ve made with each other and
ourselves. Medicine is beautiful because it
is a family.
I was in the room during my surgical clinic,
when an elderly woman was told she had
a recurrence of oesophageal cancer after
12 years of being cancer-free. She sat
hunched over in the tiny characterless
clinic, which made her already small frame
seem even more defeated. That’s when
her husband reached over from his chair,
another bare and characterless piece of
depressing furniture, and squeezed her
hand. She looked up and smiled feebly,
and with that one gesture,
she got the strength to listen to the rest of
the management plan. After they left I
went to the bathroom and wiped a tear
away. Medicine is beautiful because it is
not about the room at all, but the people. I
get to catch glimpses of people’s lives,
and feel so incredibly lucky to be there.
In the pre-operative room on my
anaesthetics rotation, a young Indian
female was very visibly nervous, couldn’t
stop shaking and was in tears by the time
we wheeled her into the operation theatre.
The elderly white anaesthetic nurse stayed
with her the entire time, whispering softly
in her ear that she would be just fine,
slowly caressing her forehead with the
love and tenderness of a mother right up
until she slowly succumbed to the
anaesthetic and entered the realms of
sleep. The nurse was right back by her
side the minute she woke up. The patient
smiled gratefully. Medicine is beautiful
because it sees a white Australian woman
see an Indian immigrant as her own child.
I know that operation theatres are cold and
secluded and so painfully sterile, while the
sun shines outside and birds chirp and flit
through branches in huge trees from
where yellow and red and green leaves fall
and line the pavement in a patchy
colourful knit blanket, but I also know that
medicine is full of moments just as
beautiful as this.
2022 EDITION
PANACEA MAGAZINE

Floral
Anatomy
By Kasundri Kulasinghe

AMSA Healthy Communities
Domestic Violence: The Lesser
Known Pandemic
By Bianca Crowder
Domestic Violence (DV) refers to patterns of abusive behaviours
which facilitate and maintain power and control over another. (1)
How can we provide a voice to victims of DV?
The RACGP have published ‘The Whitebook: Abuse and Violence’
which outlines the 3 Rs Model- Recognise, Respond, Refer. (2)
Here is a summary which may assist you with advocacy in clinical
practice. Please note this summary is not intended to replace
professional advice (which requires specialist knowledge) and some
content may be distressing.
RECOGNISE
Types of Domestic Violence & Their Signs
Signs can be identified on examination or through history taking
and can occur with any of the following types of DV (this list is not
exhaustive):
Physical Abuse- Bruises, chronic pain, injuries, headaches.
Emotional Abuse- Anger, feeling overwhelmed, hypervigilance.
Psychological Abuse- Poor sleep, concentration difficulties, absence
at appointments or events, loss of sense of self, any symptoms of
mental health concerns.
Financial Abuse- Perpetrator has control of finances, accounts and
may induce debt. Restricting access to personal finances. May use
blackmail.
Coercive Control- Instructions on which activities, clothes,
appearance, visits and friends the victim are 'allowed', or making
decisions for the victim by restricting personal choices.
Social Abuse- Isolation from friends/family/supportive social
network.
Technological Abuse- Restricting car, computer or phone use,
victim surveillance though fake social media accounts,

unauthorised technology use by perpetrator such as
reading text messages, monitoring calls, tracking.
Restrictions on social media activity (such as telling the
victim which posts they are 'allowed' to comment or like).
Visa Abuse- Use of blackmail and coercion. False claims
about visa status, restricting access to passport or visa
documentation.
References
1. NSW Public Health Network
2. RACGP, The Whitebook: Abuse and violence: working
with our patients in general practice, 5th Ed.,nd
Sexual Violence- Unwanted pressure or lack of consent.
Can include physical signs and/or emotional and
psychological signs.
RED FLAGS
Escalation of violence
Recent planned separation- HIGHEST RISK
Recent unemployment of perpetrator drug alcohol abuse
Pregnancy or recent birth
Obsessive behaviour, jealousy or stalking
Direct threats
Sexual assault
Children- if present they are at risk even if not directly
involved or targeted
Vulnerable Groups
Low Socioeconomic Status, CALD, English Second
Language, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples,
elderly population.
RESPOND
Active Listening- let the patient take the lead. Use non
verbal cues and avoid judgement. Validate emotions and
reassurance that the victim is not to blame.
Ensure a comfortable, supportive, safe environment,
where the patient is alone and free of coercion.
Safety and Risk Assessment and Mandatory Reportingthis
varies by state- contact local Public Health Network.
REFER
Provide options and ongoing support- Informed consent to
offer services, but respect the patient's decision- they may
not be aware they are experiencing DV and may not wish
to take action or accept support, re-emphasise ongoing
support is available when they are ready.
Refer and provide access to specialist Family Violence
Services.

THE UNSPOKEN BURDEN: GENDER
DISCRIMINATION IN MED SCHOOL
BY LAURA MCDUFF
If you, dear reader, saw the title of this
article and thought perhaps this piece on
gender equity is not for you, I implore you
to keep reading. What I would like to share
with you is that gender equity is, in fact, a
topic we all should be invested in. A key
facet of AMSA Gender Equity’s role is to
advocate to improve the culture of
medicine in the face of gender bias,
discrimination, and harassment. Gender
discrimination disproportionately, but not
exclusively, impacts the health outcomes
for women, transgender, and gender
diverse medical students. So I ask you to
keep reading to find out your part to play
in this grand endeavour to dismantle
gender bias in our collective culture of
medicine.
What does gender discrimination and bias
in medicine look like? Medicine has held
onto a façade for far too long of being
‘gender blind’ which has effects for both
patient outcomes, beyond the scope of
this article, and for the practitioners of
medicine. For many, gender discrimination
is thought of as overt intimidation, sexist
comments or sexual harassment, which
many medical students and doctors
verifiably face [1]. However, it also can be
subversive in the form of subtle inequities,
bias, unconscious attitudes and opinions.
The consultant who only makes eye
contact with male medical students and
subtle shifts in body language to exclude
women and gender diverse students. Lack
of support from institutions for fathers in
medical school or lack of opportunities
and exclusion in certain specialties such
as paediatrics and obstetrics &
gynaecology [2]. Anti-LGBT jokes and
casual transphobia from peers or
members of the healthcare team, a
phenomenon that nearly half of surveyed
LGBTQIA+ medical students report
occuring [3].
The effects of gender bias and
discrimination on medical students have a
myriad of effects from the very start all
throughout our careers. The burden of
gender bias can contribute to high
burnout rates, poor mental health,
unequal opportunities in clinical,
academic or leadership roles and
disparities in compensation and time to
academic promotion (to name a few). So,
dear reader, why should you care? Well,
for one, you or your colleagues are
unfortunately likely to have faced gender
bias or discrimination during medical
school. The added and cumulative burden
this can impose on students and future
practitioners can deprive the field,
AMSA GENDER EQUITY

patients and talented clinicians of opportunities
and even pursuit of certain fields of medicine.
Eliminating gender inequities requires a concerted
effort to inform both affected and unaffected
individuals about disparities that exist and how to
address them. We cannot assume that the archaic
culture of medicine will die out with the slow
trickle of retirement. This fallacy props up the idea
that detrimental aspects of the culture are solely a
factor of an age gone by, and removes the
responsibility of today’s medical students. We are
also responsible for the culture of medicine. In the
formation of a professional identity, many medical
students absorb medical culture. However this can
lead to unquestioningly accepting and reproducing
the status quo [4].
Medical students are a vulnerable group, due to
the dependence on superiors for letters of
recommendation or reference, training
opportunities, and career advancement. If you feel
unaffected by gender bias, I call on you not to
assume gender blindness but consider how your
colleagues may face this burden regularly.
Advocating for your colleagues, and providing
interpersonal support helps reduce the additional
burden of advocacy fatigue of those experiencing
gender discrimination (the phenomenon of those
groups that face discrimination or marginalisation
are also the same groups having to educate and
advocate continually).
It would be foolhardy to assume this is a problem
unique to medicine, we recognise the pervasive
influence of gender discrimination and bias.
Furthermore, it’s important to acknowledge the
additive forms of bias and discrimination
individuals face if they are part of other
marginalised groups. Whilst this is broader than
you and your colleagues, and requires institutional
solutions and continuous cultural reform at all
levels of the medical hierarchy, that does not
diminish the individual difference you can make.
but rather a focus on the importance that
individual interpersonal action can have in
reducing the mental and emotional burden for our
colleagues now and in the future. Elevate the
voices, achievements and talent of your fellow
medical students. Support your colleagues if you
notice overt or covert gender discrimination. If you
are not affected by gender discrimination,
speaking up and empowering and uplifting your
colleagues does not detract from your work nor
talent.. Speaking up can take many forms, as long
as you use your voice to disrupt the status quo
rather than empower it.
References
1. Phillips NA, Tannan SC, Kalliainen LK.
Understanding and Overcoming Implicit
Gender Bias in Plastic Surgery. Plast Reconstr
Surg. 2016;138(5):1111-1116
2. ​Nora LM, McLaughlin MA, Fosson SE, Stratton
TD, Murphy-Spencer A, Fincher RM, German
DC, Seiden D, Witzke DB. Gender discrimination
and sexual harassment in medical education:
perspectives gained by a 14-school study.
Academic medicine. 2002 Dec 1;77(12 Part
1):1226-34.
3. Nama N, MacPherson P, Sampson M, McMillan
HJ. Medical students’ perception of lesbian,
gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT)
discrimination in their learning environment
and their self-reported comfort level for caring
for LGBT patients: a survey study. Med Educ
Online. 2017;22(1):1368850.
4. Babaria P, Abedin S, Berg D, Nunez-Smith M.
“I’m too used to it”: a longitudinal qualitative
study of third year female medical students’
experiences of gendered encounters in medical
education. Soc Sci Med 2012; 74: 1013-1020.
I do not intend this to be an inspirational speech
AMSA GENDER EQUITY

The United States Supreme
Court overturned Roe v. Wade.
What does this mean for the
United States and the world?
By Mansi Tiwary &
Afreen Akbany
(AMSA Sexual and
Reproductive
Health)
What was Roe v. Wade?
Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision passed
by the Supreme Court of the United States
(SCOTUS) regarding abortion laws in America
on the 22nd of January, 1973. The SCOTUS
ruled that the constitutional right to privacy
“is broad enough to encompass a woman’s
decision whether or not to terminate her
pregnancy” (Roe v. Wade, 1973).[1,2] Prior to
Roe v. Wade, abortion was illegal in most
states, unless being performed in order to
preserve the woman’s life or health, or in
cases of incest, rape or fetal ill-health.[2]
The case was filed by Norma McCorvey under
the legal pseudonym, Jane Roe McCorvey
was an unmarried woman who fell pregnant
with her third child. She wanted to terminate
the pregnancy; however, she lived in Texas,
where abortions were outlawed except in the
aforementioned circumstances.[2] Linda
Coffee and Sarah Weddington, McCorvey's
lawyers, filed a lawsuit on her behalf against
her local district attorney, Henry Wade, in the
US federal court. They argued that Texas’
abortion ban was unconstitutional, infringing
women’s right to privacy. Eventually, the case
was taken to the Supreme Court level, where
7 out of 9 judges ruled in favour of Roe,
deeming that the Texan abortion ban was
unconstitutional. The decision was a source
of great contention, since 46 out of 50 states
had to change their abortion laws as a
consequence.1 Hence, over the last five
decades, this ruling protected the right to
abortion at the federal level, and abortion
services in America became safer and more
accessible.
Notable subsequent judicial developments
Hyde Amendment
The Hyde Amendment is a legislative
provision which prohibits the use of federal
funds to cover abortions, unless performed to
save the mother’s life, or if the pregnancy is a
result of rape or incestuous activity.[3] Before
the amendment came into effect in 1980,
approximately 300,000 abortions were being
performed using federal funds every year.[4]
The amendment was originally passed on the
30th of September, 1976 by the House of
Representatives.[3] It has since been altered
by the Congress several times. The Hyde
Amendment disproportionately
disadvantages low-income women and
women of colour. In his 2020 presidential
campaign, US President Joe Biden pledged
to overturn the Hyde Amendment if elected
to parliament, after being pressured to do so
by activists and fellow Democrats.[5] Biden’s
2022 budget, a non-binding document which
was released in 2021, had omitted the
Amendment.[6] However, this may not be
feasible given the need for government
funding, and due to the Russia-Ukraine
conflict, since the US has agreed to provide
$40 billion worth of aid to Ukraine.[6]
Planned Parenthood v. Casey
Planned Parenthood v. Casey was a 1992 US
Supreme Court case which challenged the
right to abortion established in Roe v. Wade.
[7] Although it affirmed the central holding of
Roe, that “regardless of whether exceptions
are made for particular circumstances, a

state may not prohibit any woman from
making the ultimate decision to terminate
her pregnancy before viability”, the decision
was that the age of foetal viability was
defined as 23-24 weeks rather than 28, as per
Roe.[7] Additionally, Roe had established a
trimester framework regarding restrictions
around abortion, whereby during the first
trimester, the decision to terminate a
pregnancy was the woman’s alone.[1] During
the second trimester, the state could more
tightly regulate abortions based on the
mother’s health requirements.[1] Meanwhile,
during the third trimester, individual states
could outlaw or regulate abortions in the
interest of viable life, with exceptions being
made to preserve the mother’s life or health.
[1] This framework was abandoned during the
Planned Parenthood v. Casey decision.[7]
Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health
Organization
On the 24th of June, 2022, the SCOTUS
passed the landmark decision, Dobbs v.
Jackson Women's Health Organization,
which overruled both Roe v. Wade and
Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992),
maintaining that the American constitution
does not grant citizens any right to abortion.
[8] A draft of this majority opinion written by
Justice Samuel Alito was leaked in May 2022.
At that time, 13 states had trigger laws set to
ban abortion as soon as Roe v. Wade was
overturned.[9] The draft leak prompted more
states to adopt similar trigger laws. At
present, 12 states—Alabama, Arkansas,
Georgia, Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio,
Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota,
Tennessee, Texas and Wisconsin—have
banned abortion, and 4 states— Idaho, North
Dakota, West Virginia and Wyoming—are
expected to ban abortion or place severe
restrictions on abortion in the near future. So
far, judges have temporarily blocked trigger
laws banning abortion in Louisiana, Kentucky
and Utah. Furthermore, abortion laws are
thought to be threatened in 11 states —
Arizona, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas,
Michigan, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina,
Pennsylvania and Virginia. Collectively, these
legislative changes are estimated to affect
almost 40 million women of reproductive age
within the US.[10]
Executive Order 14076: Protecting Access to
Reproductive Healthcare Services
On the 8th of July, 2022, US President Joseph
Biden signed an Executive Order to protect
access to reproductive healthcare, directing
the US Department of Health and Human
Services (HHS) to ensure access to
medication abortion and emergency
contraception.[11] The Executive Order offers
few specific guidelines on how to achieve its
goals, and is expected to have limited impact
in practice.
How did Roe influence abortion access
abroad?
The Roe ruling precipitated movements to
expand reproductive health and rights
globally.[12] Notably, since the late 2010s, a
sweeping grassroots movement—known as
‘Marea Verde’ or ‘the Green Wave’—has seen
the most populous nations in Latin America
pave the way for more widespread access to
abortion, demonstrating that legal abortion
acess can coexist with strong Catholic and
Protestant traditions.[13] Roe has, as well,
been influential in court decisions related to
reproductive freedoms.[12] For instance, the
High Court of Kenya in Malindi, in March
2022, specifically referenced and considered
key points from Roe when affirming the right
to abortion under the Constitution.[12,14]
It follows, then, that the Dobbs decision
would have dire implications for global
abortion rights. Human rights advocates fear
that this ruling will strengthen worldwide
efforts to restrict abortion access.[15]
Countries such as China, El Savador,
Indonesia, and Poland can point to the US to
legitimise their own restrictive policies. In
more permissive jurisdictions, anti-rights
activists may now feel emboldened to be
more expressive of their views in public
domains, exacerbating the stigma faced by
people who seek abortion services, and by
abortion providers.
What happens when women are denied
abortions?
For about ten years from 2007, abortion
advocacy group Advancing New Standards in

Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) tracked the
experiences of 1,132 women in the US who
had received abortions or been denied them
because of clinic policies on gestational age
limits.[16] Participants were recruited from 30
abortion facilities around America. This yearslong
project was led by demographer Dr.
Diana Greene Foster, and came to be known
as The Turnaway Study.[16]
Key findings from the Turnaway Study
include the fact that women who are denied
a wanted abortion and are forced to carry an
unwanted pregnancy to term are:
Four times as likely to live below the
federal poverty line
More likely to experience serious
complications from the end of pregnancy
including eclampsia and death
More likely to suffer anxiety and loss of
self-esteem in the short term after being
denied abortion
Less likely to have aspirational life plans
for the coming year
More likely to experience poor physical
health for years after the pregnancy,
including chronic pain and gestational
hypertension[16]
Furthermore, being denied abortion has
serious implications for the children born of
unwanted pregnancy, as well as for the
existing children in the family.[16]
However, it is worth noting that the
Turnaway study did not include transgender
or non-binary participants, and hence, its
findings are not representative of these
patient populations.[16]
Global evidence suggests that abortion bans
do not make abortions much rarer.[17] They
instead increase the number of unsafe
abortions, as people turn to herbs such as rue
and sage—and even attempts to inflict
abdominal trauma—to self-manage
abortions.[17] Thanks to medication abortion
(a combination of mifepristone and
misoprostol), abortion can be perfomed
safely outside of formal healthcare settings.18
However, the decision in Dobbs has created
confusion about access to abortion pills. The
US Food and Drug Administration allows
these pills to be distributed by mail, but
several states are seeking to ban them
completely.[18]
In the US, childbirth is several times more
dangerous than having an abortion.19 If
patients have no other option than to carry
pregnancies to term, they will have to
shoulder the worse odds of death from
pregnancy or childbirth.19 Global trends
indicate that abortion bans increase maternal
mortality.[19] In the US, restrictions are likely
to disproportionately affect Black women,
who are almost three times more likely to die
of pregnancy- and childbirth-related
complications than White women.[19]
What does abortion care look like in
Australia?
In Australia, legislation around abortion varies
by state. Each state’s regulations are
tabulated below.
Table 1. Abortion legislation in Australia

While legislation around abortion in Australia
is much more progressive and permissive
than that of the US, there remains significant
room for progress. Barriers to abortion access
include financial and geographic barriers,
and deficiencies in practitioner attitudes,
education and training.[21]
In Australia, federal funding is available for
abortions provided within the private sector
for those entitled to access Medicare, while
States are responsible for the provision of
abortion services in public hospitals.[21]
Deficiencies in public provision and the
subsidies for abortions performed in private
hospitals have rendered abortion services
unaffordable for many patients seeking
them.[21] For example, the cost of obtaining a
medical abortion in the state of Victoria can
range from as little as $6.10 to as much as
$440, depending on the abortion provider.[21]
Geographic differences in abortion access
across Australia have given rise to
‘reproductive tourism’, wherein people travel
insterstate to more liberalised jurisdictions, or
from rural and remote areas to cities with
adequate healthcare infrastructure, to
receive abortion care.[21]
practitioners able to provide the service.[21]
What can be done?
Reproductive healthcare is at risk in the new
post-Roe reality. Here is what you can do to
address barriers to abortion access, and join
the fight for reproductive freedoms:
Donate to community-based abortion
funds, which provide financial assistance,
travel, lodging and other types of support
to people seeking abortions.
Vote for legislators who support sexual
and reproductive health and rights, such
as access to abortion and contraception.
Actively counter anti-abortion discourse
by discussing the harms of forced
pregnancy.
Join pro-abortion rallies in your city or
state to draw attention to the issue of
restricted abortion access and rights.
Advocate for the inclusion of abortion in
your medical school curriculum.
Because of previous laws criminalising the
procedure, abortion has been mostly absent
from medical curricula and vocational
training.[21] Additionally, doctor education
and training has not readily adapted to the
decriminalisation of abortion.[21] Abortion is
included in the curriculum of only half of the
medical schools in Australia, and there are no
mandatory requirements for trainees of the
Royal Australian and New Zealand College of
Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
(RANZCOG) to have clinical experience
providing abortion care.[21] The inadequacy
of training has led to a significant nationwide
shortage of surgeons who are able to provide
abortions beyond 18 weeks’ gestation.[21]
Although decriminalisation has widened
abortion access, further measures are
required to help Australian people fully
realise reproductive rights.[21] These should
include increased funding and public
provision of abortion services in rural and
urban areas, and appropriate vocational
training to increase the number of

References
1. Legal Information Institute. Roe v. Wade (1973). Cornell Law School. Accessed July 23, 2022.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/roe_v_wade_(1973)
2. Planned Parenthood. Roe v. Wade: Its History and Impact. Planned Parenthood Federation of
America. Updated January, 2014. Accessed July 23, 2022.
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/files/3013/9611/5870/Abortion_Roe_History.pdf
3. Gerais R. The Hyde Amendment of 1976. The Embryo Project Encyclopedia. June 28, 2017.
Accessed July 23, 2022. https://embryo.asu.edu/pages/hyde-amendment-1976
4. Gold RB. After the Hyde Amendment: public funding for abortion in FY 1978. Fam Plann
Perspect. 1980;12(3):131-4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6995148/
5. McCammon S. Biden's Budget Proposal Reverses A Decades-Long Ban On Abortion Funding.
NPR. May 31, 2021. Accessed July 23, 2022. https://www.npr.org/2021/05/31/1001881788/bidensbudget-proposal-reverses-a-decades-long-ban-on-abortion-funding
6. Griffiths BD. Biden will be forced to sign a restriction on abortion funding after Democrats
caved to Republican demands. Business Insider. March 10, 2022. Accessed July 23, 2022.
https://www.businessinsider.com/biden-hyde-amendment-repeal-house-spending-planukraine-2022-3
7. Legal Information Institute. Planned Parenthood of South-Eastern Pennsylvania, et al.,
Petitioners, v. Robert P. Casey, et al.. Cornell Law School. Accessed July 23, 2022.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/supremecourt/text/505/833
8. Center for Reproductive Rights. U.S. Supreme Court Takes Away the Constitutional Right to
Abortion. Reproductive Rights. June 24, 2022. Accessed July 23, 2022.
9. Al Jazeera Staff. What has happened in week since draft Roe v Wade opinion leaked? Al
Jazeera. May 9, 2022. Accessed July 23, 2022.
10. Witherspoon A, Glenza J, Chang A. Tracking where abortion laws stand in every state.
Updated June, 2022. Accessed July 23, 2022. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/nginteractive/2022/jun/28/tracking-where-abortion-laws-stand-in-every-state
11. Exec. Order No. 14076, 3 C. F. R. 42053-42055 (2022).
12. Sun N. Overturning Roe v Wade: reproducing injustice. British Medical Journal.
2022;377:o1588. Published 2022 Jun 27. doi:10.1136/bmj.o1588
13. Casas X. How the ‘Green Wave’ Movement Did the Unthinkable in Latin America. The New
York Times. November 1, 2021. Accessed July 23, 2022.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/01/opinion/abortion-latin-america.html
14. Center for Reproductive Rights. High Court of Kenya in Malindi Ruling in PAK and Salim
Mohammed vs. the Attorney General and 3 others. March 25, 2022. Accessed July 23, 2022.
https://reproductiverights.org/high-court-of-kenya-in-malindi-ruling-in-pak-and-salimmohammed-vs-the-attorney-general-and-3-others/
15. Rai S. How the Fall of Roe v. Wade Could Impact Abortion Access Around the World. The Hill.
April 7, 2022. Accessed July 23, 2022. https://thehill.com/policy/healthcare/3542593-how-thefall-of-roe-v-wade-could-impact-abortion-access-around-the-world/
16. Foster DG. The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, a Thousand Women, and the Consequences of
Having–or Being Denied–an Abortion. New York: Scribner; 2020.
17. Singh S, Remez L, Sedgh G, Kwok L, Onda T. Abortion Worldwide: Uneven Progress and
Unequal Access. Guttmacher Institute. Published 2017. Accessed July 23, 2022.
https://www.guttmacher.org/sites/default/files/report_pdf/abortion-worldwide-2017.pdf
18. McGovern T. Overturning Roe v Wade has had an immediate chilling effect on reproductive
healthcare. British Medical Journal. 2022;377:o1622. Published June 30, 2022.
doi:10.1136/bmj.o1622
19. Lau S. The United States needs people to stand up for abortion. British Medical Journal.
2022;377:o1493. Published June 22, 2022. doi:10.1136/bmj.o1493
20. Stirrat C. New abortion laws have come into effect in South Australia. What are they in other
states? SBS News. July 7, 2022. Accessed July 23, 2022.
https://www.sbs.com.au/news/article/new-abortion-laws-have-come-into-effect-in-southaustralia-what-are-they-in-other-states/g5w55ghaj
21. Sifris R, Penovic T. Barriers to abortion access in Australia before and during the COVID-19
pandemic. Women’s Studies International Forum. 2022;86. Published April 13, 2021.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wsif.2021.102470

50 SHADES of ADIPOSE TISSUE
Hi, I am the adipose tissue within your body. You may know me by the more
derogatory term “fat tissue”. I have always been the black sheep of the body,
from being labeled as unattractive, ugly, and even blamed for many of the
metabolic diseases that have plagued mankind. For decades, I have been
mankind’s most hated and vilified organ so much that many have resorted to
great lengths and dangerous surgeries to purge me from the human body.
By Abdikarim Said Abdullahi
Woe is me, right? But I have had it enough! and at the risk of sounding
melodramatic, I am ready to set the record and narrative straight and finally tell
my truths.
Are you aware that I am not monolithic, but come in different shades and
colors like your unique human skin, with each shade of my skin having a
unique effect on the human body? From helping your body to absorb fatsoluble
vitamins and minerals to being a vital component of your body’s cell
membrane and the myelin sheath around your neurons. So, you see I am more
than meets the eye.
For far too long the colonists like in your historical education system have only
taught you about the “white” adipose tissue, and all the diseases and metabolic
havoc I have caused. What about my “brown” side, did you know that within
your body exists another form of adipose tissue called “brown adipose” tissue.
Characteristically and morphologically, I am different from my “white” brothers,
as I possess hundredths of mitochondria and a unique gene called uncoupling
protein 1 (UCP-1), which allows me to help your body burn fat at exceedingly
impressive rates. I also do not store as much fat as my white counterparts and
have even been the target of researchers studying obesity in order to harness
my remarkable energy burning abilities to cure obesity. Unfortunately, my life
span is limited within the human body with my population becoming
dangerously low by the time you hit puberty.
Then you have my other equally unique family member, “the beige” adipose
tissue, which as the name “beige” suggests was created through an intra-racial
relationship between my white and brown self. As beige adipose tissue, I
possess qualities of white adipose tissue in that I tend to store fat for your body,
clog up your arteries, make you aesthetically unpleasant to look at. However,
with the right stimulus and a process called “white adipose tissue browning”, I
can switch up and let my brown side shine by expressing the UCP-1 gene and
thereby transforming into a fat-burning engine. Like my brown adipose
brother, I have also recently attracted much attention as a new therapeutic
target for obesity. It is hypothesized that by activating browning (switch from
white to beige), we can increase energy expenditure and cause a negative
energy balance in individuals with excess fat stores. Indeed, several studies in
mice have already shown that the activation of browning facilitates weight loss,
ameliorates insulin resistance, and corrects hyperlipidemia in obese mice.
So, I hope you now see and realize that like you, I possess the most innate
human qualities of being good and evil as well as being full of contradictions.
Most of the time, we don’t see our own contradictions – it’s often easier to
observe such inconsistencies in others. But you are as full of contradictions as I
am. Like you, I can be a source for healing through my brown and beige sides
or I can be a source for harm through my white side. In summary, all I ask of
you is that next time you try to tarnish my name, be mindful that I am human
just like you and that I too deserve your kindness.

L E T ' S S E E I T T O G E T H E R
PHOTOGRAPH TAKEN By ALYCE
FINCH

Thank
you for
reading
AMSA 2022