Women's Lifestyle March 31, 2026 0 Comments

The Untold Story of Dr. Susan Robinson: How One Woman Changed the Game for Later Pregnancy Abortion Care Forever

Ever had one of those moments where life hands you an email that feels like a punch to the gut, just as you’re stepping off a plane? That’s exactly what happened to me in Milwaukee — I landed, opened my inbox, and read that Susan Robinson had passed away. It wasn’t a total surprise. We’d shared a conversation just two days earlier, and she’d told me she was “circling around the drain. Truly.” Those words stuck with me — not because of resignation but because of the grit and grace behind them. Susan wasn’t someone to go quietly; she fought fiercely, starting her medical career by defying threats and persevering where few dared—in third-trimester abortion care. Her story isn’t just about medicine, it’s about courage, mentorship, and facing the inevitable with clear eyes and no regrets. It got me thinking… how often do we really pause to consider the legacy we want to leave behind? LEARN MORE

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My flight had just landed in Milwaukee, where I was scheduled to give a talk that day for the local chapter of Medical Students for Choice. I opened an email from Dave, Susan Robinson’s husband, and read that Susan had died early that day. I was sad but not surprised. We had spoken two days earlier. At that time, I was in Chicago, and she told me that she was “circling around the drain. Truly.” Truly, because she had used the same phrase months earlier, shortly after her diagnosis of widespread lung cancer, and because she greatly surprised both herself and her legions of friends by her relative longevity.

Susan Robinson graduated from the University of California, San Diego medical school and completed her residency at Tufts, in Boston. She began providing abortion care in a spirit of defiance after three abortion providers were killed in the 1990s. Her attitude was “I’ll show them,” and she did. Before turning to third-trimester abortion care, she trained innumerable providers in California in early abortion care with impeccable technique and compassion. Her mentees are legion and continue to revere her.

Dr. Shelley Sella

Dr. Shelley Sella, left, and Dr. Susan Robinson

Susan and I met briefly prior to our abortion-provider careers. Our relationship formed in Wichita, Kansas, where we were both mentored by George Tiller at his clinic, Women’s Health Care Services, one of only two clinics at the time providing third-trimester abortion care. Our bond solidified after Dr. Tiller’s assassination in church in 2009. I was the bearer of this tragic news to her, and it was probably one of the most difficult calls I’ve made in my life.

With Dr. Tiller’s death, there was only one remaining clinic in the entire country offering third-trimester abortion care. Susan and I were both committed to providing this care and decided to look for work together. We were lucky to be invited to start a third-trimester abortion clinic at Southwestern Women’s Options in Albuquerque, a clinic that was already offering first- and second-trimester abortions.

This was truly the beginning of our relationship. Although we worked at the clinic on opposite weeks, we spoke on the phone every day. In Albuquerque, we took the best elements from Kansas and, with deep collaboration, created a truly unique practice.

Our temperaments complemented each other perfectly. I had worked with home-birth midwives and brought a midwifery perspective to the practice. Susan was more practical; she identified problems and fixed them.

We were proud of our work

From the beginning of our work in Albuquerque, we were committed to training the next generation of abortion providers and also speaking publicly about our work. This was a significant shift from Dr. Tiller’s approach, as he always said that his exclusive focus was on patient care. We didn’t disagree, but we also thought it was important to be open about our work. We were proud of our work, and we believed that speaking about it would help to demystify and destigmatize the care we offered.

By the time Susan retired, we had trained the extremely capable doctor Carmen Landau, who picked up the reins. In her retirement, Susan became active in the medical-aid-in-dying movement, speaking widely to educate people about their end-of-life options. She also came out of retirement to work in a telemedicine medication-abortion practice that served patients in states where abortion is restricted or banned.

Susan was diagnosed with cancer in May. She briefly tried treatment, but realizing that its side effects far outweighed its potential benefits, she declined further medical care. Expecting to die soon after her diagnosis, she quickly and openly made plans with her beloved husband, Dave, for her death at home, including picking out her burial plot and designing her coffin. Fortunately and unexpectedly, she had many more months than anticipated of relatively good health, and she spent them at home with Dave, with friends and family, and with her dog. She brought the same clear-eyed, no-nonsense approach to dying as she had to her abortion practice and to the rest of her life.

It was a remarkable experience to talk with someone so close to the end of life, who was so aware of her death and who exhibited such equanimity. She told me, “I see my world getting smaller, and I also don’t mind that it’s getting smaller. How much harder it would be if I was screaming up and down, saying, ‘I don’t want this.’ I feel so completely accepting of the whole thing.” What most gratified her was her lack of regret. “How many people can say, ‘I haven’t wasted my life’? I have no regrets. I’m very pleased about the whole business.”