The American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) joins more than 20 medical organizations, representing physicians dedicated to advancing the health of our patients, in support of the Women’s Health Protection Act (S. 4132). Given the circulating draft United States Supreme Court opinion that would strike down longstanding protections afforded by Roe v. Wade, it is critically important and incredibly urgent that this legislation moves forward.
The AMWA holds the patient-physician relationship must be protected. Open, honest, and confidential communication between the patient and physician is essential to the provision of safe and quality
medical care. Defying evidence-based standards of care sets a dangerous precedent of governmental intrusion and it should be stopped. A patient’s right to be counseled and treated by their physician according to the best available medical evidence and the physician’s professional medical judgment is at risk by the anticipated Supreme Court decision.
This country is reaching a crisis in which our long-held fears are now becoming a reality across the United States. The proliferation of misinformation has motivated violence and harassment
against physicians in the past and is now renewed and intensified as more states criminalize compassionate and evidence-based care. Physicians must have the ability to provide needed care
to their patients without fear of penalties and retribution. The patients most impacted by these political decisions are those already experiencing grave inequities in the health care system.
The Women’s Health Protection Act would address an area of medicine systematically targeted with government overregulation—reproductive health care—by prohibiting inappropriate restrictions
and restoring the ability of patients to receive comprehensive care, free from governmental intrusion. As physicians spanning the spectrum of care, thank you for your urgent consideration of this
important legislation to prevent governmental interference in the practice of medicine and protect the patient-physician relationship.
