Leading Physician Groups Oppose Texas Legislation That Threatens Access to Reproductive Patient Care
Media contacts:
American Academy of Family Physicians: Julie Hirschhorn | (202) 655-4949 | jhirschhorn@aafp.org
American Academy of Pediatrics: Jamie Poslosky | 202-724-3301 | jposlosky@aap.org
American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: Kate Connors | kconnors@acog.org
American College of Physicians: Jackie Blaser | 202-261-4572 | jblaser@acponline.org
American Osteopathic Association: Jessica Bardoulas | 312-202-8038 | jbardoulas@osteopathic.org
American Psychiatric Association: Erin Connors | (518) 570-8029 | econnors@psych.org
Washington, D.C. (September 2, 2021) – America’s leading physician groups are deeply concerned about the consequences of the Texas state law, which took effect yesterday, banning abortions, medical counseling and support related to abortion after six weeks of pregnancy.
Our organizations, which represent nearly 600,000 physicians and medical students, strongly oppose any laws and regulations that interfere in the confidential relationship between a patient and their physician. This new law will endanger patients and clinicians, putting physicians who provide necessary medical care, or even offer evidence-based information, at risk, by allowing private citizens to interfere in women’s reproductive health decision making. Moreover, this law virtually eliminates women’s access to evidence-based, comprehensive care and information, and denies women their right to make decisions about their own health.
Our organizations are firmly against any policies that limit the evidence-based practice of medicine, threaten the patient-physician relationship, and inhibit the delivery of safe, timely, and necessary comprehensive care, including reproductive health services and information.
Patients must be able to depend on their physicians to help them make critical decisions about their personal health, including reproductive health. To that end, we fundamentally oppose the unprecedented ability for private citizens to take legal action against individuals who help a woman obtain an abortion, including physicians providing necessary, evidence-based care for their patients. Physicians must be able to practice medicine that is informed by their years of medical education, training, experience, and the available evidence, freely and without threat of punishment, harassment, or retribution.
Patients and their physicians should be the ones to make medical decisions together about what care is best for them. We strongly urge the courts to act swiftly to strike down this law and any similar legislation.
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About American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 130,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the largest medical society devoted solely to primary care. Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits — that’s 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. To learn more about the specialty of family medicine and the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, visit www.aafp.org. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s consumer website, www.familydoctor.org.
About the American Academy of Pediatrics
The American Academy of Pediatrics is an organization of 67,000 primary care pediatricians, pediatric medical subspecialists and pediatric surgical specialists dedicated to the health, safety and well-being of infants, children, adolescents and young adults. For more information, visit www.aap.org and follow us on Twitter @AmerAcadPeds.
About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 161,000 internal medicine physicians (internists), related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
About the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is the nation’s leading group of physicians providing health care for women. As a private, voluntary, nonprofit membership organization of 60,000 members, ACOG strongly advocates for quality health care for women, maintains the highest standards of clinical practice and continuing education of its members, promotes patient education, and increases awareness among its members and the public of the changing issues facing women’s health care. www.acog.org.
About the American Osteopathic Association
The American Osteopathic Association (AOA) represents more than 168,000 osteopathic physicians (DOs) and osteopathic medical students; promotes public health; encourages and funds scientific research; serves as the primary certifying body for DOs; and is the accrediting agency for colleges of osteopathic medicine. To learn more about DOs and the osteopathic philosophy of medicine, visit www.osteopathic.org.
About the American Psychiatric Association
The American Psychiatric Association, founded in 1844, is the oldest medical association in the country. The APA is also the largest psychiatric association in the world with more than 37,400 physician members specializing in the diagnosis, treatment, prevention and research of mental illnesses. APA’s vision is to ensure access to quality psychiatric diagnosis and treatment. For more information please visit www.psychiatry.org.