DeShawn Taylor

DeShawn Taylor, MD MSc (she/hers) is an award-winning Gynecologist, Family Planning Specialist, Gender Affirming Care Provider, and Reproductive Justice Activist, whose work advances reproductive health care access through direct services, education and training, advocacy, and leadership.

Dr. Taylor is an Associate Clinical Professor of OB/Gyn at the University of Arizona College of Medicine Phoenix and solo operates Desert Star Family Planning, an independent abortion clinic founded in 2013. Desert Star is a hub for abortion training with medical students and residents from 18 states and 3 regions of Canada traveling to train with Dr. Taylor in Phoenix. She has convened local and statewide coalitions for reproductive rights and justice with a keen interest in cultivating grassroots leadership in communities of color. The non-profit Desert Star Institute for Family Planning that Dr. Taylor founded in 2017 houses coalition work and community programs advancing access to reproductive healthcare for multiple marginalized communities.

Dr. Taylor brings her expertise to state and national policy tables, establishing Health Justice MD to help organizations incorporate a justice lens into new and emerging commitments to support reproductive health and rights in the wake of the Supreme Court Dobbs decision.