Reproductive Health Coalition

Meetings

The Reproductive Health Coalition meets monthly on the second Tuesday of the month, 12-1 pm ET. Member organizations and guest speakers provide updates on advocacy opportunities and upcoming issues.

The Reproductive Health Coalition Steering Committee meets on the first Tuesday of the month.

The Reproductive Health Coalition Subcommittees meet on the fourth Tuesday of the month. The subcommittees include Advocacy and Education.

Abortion is Healthcare; Perspectives from diverse specialties

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General 

Navigating Loss of Abortion Services — A Large Academic Medical Center Prepares for the Overturn of Roe v. Wade (NEJM)

     Abortion is health care and a health equity issue.

A Preview of the Dangerous Future of Abortion Bans — Texas Senate Bill 8 (NEJM)

Cardiology

Abortion rights get to the heart of the Doctor Patient Relationship (MedPageToday)

     A patient with preeclampsia has a risk of maternal and fetal mortality – complex, nuanced decisions must be made.

Implications of Restricting Legal Abortion Access on Cardio-Obstetrics Care (ACC)

     Cardio-obstetrics patients are at risk for significant CVD-related morbidity and mortality.

Q&A: Anti-abortion laws and implications for pregnant patients with CVD (Healio)

     Cardiac conditions may lead to abortion to save a woman’s life.

Cardiologists Concerned for Patient Safety After Abortion Ruling (Medscape)

Dermatology

The Supreme Court abortion ban impact on dermatology (JAAD)

     If a patient accidently gets pregnant while on teratogenic medications, abortion is often recommended. 

Gastroenterology

On the importance of safe access to reproductive options for adolescents and women with liver disease (Gastroenterology)

Nephrology

Dobbs Ruling Puts Kidney Patients in Jeopardy (National Kidney Foundation)

Neurology

Reproductive Rights in Neurology—The Supreme Court’s Impact on All of Us

     Some neurologic drugs (e.g. Valproic acid) are teratogenic.

Abortion Ban May Mean Denial of Effective Drugs for Women with MS, Migraine, Epilepsy (UCSF)

Oncology

Treating Cancer in Pregnant Patients After Roe v Wade Overturned (JAMA Network)

     Abortion is often needed before cancer treatment can begin.

Supporting Patients with Cancer after Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization (Oncologist)

Abortion Ban May Increase Risk of Death for Pregnant Women with Cancer (UCSF News)

Amid nationwide abortion debate, American Cancer Society warns fertility preservation for cancer patients could be at risk in the future (ABC NEWS)

Ophthalmology

Even Exceptions To Abortion Bans Pit A Mother’s Life Against Doctors’ Fears (FiveThirtyEight)

     Treatment for sight threatening ophthalmologic disorders may negatively impact the fetus.

Pediatrics

AAP supports adolescents’ right to comprehensive, confidential reproductive care (AAP)

Pulmonary

Pregnancy Considerations in the Multidisciplinary Care of Patients with Pulmonary Arterial Hypertension (J Cardiovasc Dev Dis)

     Patients with severe PAH are often opt to terminate the pregnancy due to the high risk of maternal decompensation.

Access to Medically Necessary Reproductive Care for Individuals with Pulmonary Hypertension (Am J Respir Crit Care Med)

Rheumatology

US anti-abortion laws may restrict access to vital drug for autoimmune diseases, patient groups warn (BMJ)

     Patients with autoimmune conditions report trouble accessing drugs that have “abortion inducing” potential.

Transplant Medicine

Navigating the Dobbs Versus Jackson America for Patients with CKD and Kidney Transplants (JASN)

National Transplantation Pregnancy Registry: Analysis of Pregnancy Outcomes in Female Liver Transplant Recipients (Liver Transplantation and Surgery)

Impact on Staffing

Hospitals Fear Abortion Bans Will Worsen Staff Shortages (Bloomberg Law)

Advocacy / News

AMWA Attends Rally with Vice President Kamala Harris One Year Post-Roe

Read more.

April 14, 2023: AMWA Joins Amicus Brief in the U.S. Supreme Court In Support of the FDA

Doctors for America (DFA) and the Reproductive Health Coalition (RHC), of which AMWA is a co-founder, file new new amicus brief at the U.S. Supreme Court in support of FDA’s approval of the use of mifepristone to end pregnancy through ten weeks gestation, without draconian prescribing and dispensing restrictions. Read more.

April 12, 2023 Doctors for America (DFA) and the Reproductive Health Coalition (RHC) file amicus brief for the 5th Circuit appeal – Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine vs. FDA.

Washington, D.C.— Doctors for America (DFA) and the Reproductive Health Coalition [which was co-founded by the American Medical Women’s Association (AMWA) and DFA]  have filed a new amicus brief in support of FDA’s approval of the use of mifepristone to end a pregnancy through ten weeks gestation, according to a press release issued April 12. Read more.

The brief, filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, is in response to the decision made last week by Judge Kacsmaryk in the case of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine vs. U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), in which Judge Kacsmaryk ordered the FDA to stay the approval of mifepristone. Both Doctors for America (DFA) and the Reproductive Health Coalition (RHC) are deeply concerned that the decision made by Judge Kacsmaryk is not based on medical science, nor the robust data available. Mifepristone is a medication that has been safely used by physicians and patients for over 20 years, with research showing that adverse events and outcomes are exceedingly rare, occurring in less than a fraction of 1% of cases.

Doctors for America, AMWA, and the Reproductive Health Coalition are alarmed  by the ramifications that potential loss of access to this medication will have on patients and clinicians. The brief filed in the Fifth Circuit provides first-hand physician testimonies on potentially devastating impacts on patient safety if mifepristone were temporarily or permanently taken off the market. DFA and the RHC are deeply concerned with Judge Kacsmaryk’s decision to stay the approval of a FDA-approved medication, as this decision undermines the FDA’s authority and sets a dangerous precedent for future drugs and therapeutics to be removed from market based on politics rather than patient harm or lack of efficacy.

The brief was filed by Dallas attorney Thomas Leatherbury with assistance from Columbia Law School’s Science, Health & Information Clinic (SHIC). SHIC provides pro bono legal help to DFA. Columbia Law student attorneys Emily Davidson and Matt Tracy led work on the brief, with support from student attorney David Ratnoff, and SHIC Director Christopher Morten.  The full brief as filed in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals can be found here. DFA’s earlier amicus brief filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas in February in the case of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA can be found here.

Day of Action and Vice Presiden’s Rally

About the Reproductive Health Coalition

The Reproductive Health Coalition represents a wide range of health professional associations and allied organizations that advocate with a unified voice to protect access to essential reproductive care. The tenets of this work focus on: a patient’s right to dignity, autonomy, privacy, and the expectation of a trusted relationship with their clinician; protection of the clinician’s ethical obligation to provide care, including their access to comprehensive training; and a commitment to an evidence-based approach to policy and practice. Over 40 organizations participate in the RHC, collectively representing more than 150 million members.