- Voice your opposition by signing a pledge HERE that will be delivered to the administration. You will notice that this provider pledge is endorsed by AMWA. By signing the pledge, you are affirming that you always put your patients’ needs first, that you protect the patient-provider relationship, and that you oppose government restrictions that prohibit you from providing care that aligns with well-established standards of care and ethics. Having thousands of providers and providers-in-training (including students) sign the pledge will be an incredibly powerful message that the administration can’t ignore.
- Share information about the proposed rule and the pledge with other providers in your personal and professional networks. Please forward this information to 5 of your contacts and share it on listservs.
Here is a sample email:
Dear [NAME],
I am writing to ask you to take action against a proposed federal rule that would create a dangerous and nationwide precedent of allowing political ideology to interfere in the practice of health care and override ethical standards for patient care. All health care providers and providers-in-training – regardless of specialty or patient population served – should care about this proposed rule. More information about the proposed rule is below.
There is limited time to make your voice heard. We anticipate that the Trump-Pence administration will make the rule final around the end of the year. It is critical that the administration hear loud and clear from the provider community that we will not tolerate politics interfering with our profession and the quality care we provide our patients.
You can take action in two ways:
- Voice your opposition by signing a pledge HERE that will be delivered to the administration. By signing the pledge, you are affirming that you always put your patients’ needs first, that you protect the patient-provider relationship, and that you oppose government restrictions that prohibit you from providing care that aligns with well-established standards of care and ethics. Having thousands of providers and providers-in-training (including students) sign the pledge will be an incredibly powerful message that the administration can’t ignore.
- Share information about the proposed rule and the pledge with other providers in your personal and professional networks. Please forward this information to 5 of your contacts and share it on listservs.
Background information:
The Trump-Pence administration recently proposed a federal regulation that imposes new rules on the Title X family planning program, a federal program that provides birth control and other sexual health care to millions of low-income people across the country. Title X funds cannot be used for abortion. However, consistent with the ethical responsibilities of health care providers, current Title X program guidelines guarantee all pregnant Title X patients receive neutral, factual, and nondirective information about all their pregnancy options, including abortion.
The proposed rule would override current program guidelines by:
- Removing the guarantee that patients receive neutral, factual, and nondirective information about all of their health care options;
- Barring any Title X-participating provider, health center, or hospital from providing their patients referrals for safe, legal abortion — even if a patient asks for a referral; and
- Deleting the requirement that contraception provided to Title X patients be medically approved.
The proposed rule also opens the Title X family planning program to providers who refuse to offer a full range of family planning methods and services. And it would make it impossible for Planned Parenthood health centers to participate in the program.
While the proposed rule may focus on a federal family planning program, it is clear that the administration is trying to replace well-established clinical practices, ethical guidelines, and the provider-patient relationship with political ideology. If the rule becomes final, it will create a dangerous precedent that could impact other providers and fields of health care.
Every major provider association – including the American Medical Association, American Medical Women’s Association, American Nurses Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Academy of Family Physicians, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, National Association of Community Health Centers, and more — has publicly opposed this rule as unethical, intrusive, and harmful to patient care. The federal government should not place providers in the untenable position of having to disregard their professional ethics in order to participate in a public health program.
Add your name to the growing list of providers who oppose the proposed rule and want to make sure politics stay out of the exam room. Sign the pledge to uphold provider ethics and patient care HERE.
