Nation’s Ob-Gyns Denounce Trump Administration’s Attack on Contraception

Washington, DC—Haywood L. Brown, M.D., president of The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) released the following statement on the release of the Trump administration’s final rules that will limit contraception access:

“As the nation’s largest professional organization for women’s health care physicians, The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) is extremely disappointed that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has chosen to undermine the best interest of the patients we care for. These rules will negatively impact the health of women and their families by limiting access to essential preventive care.

“Reducing access to contraceptive coverage threatens to reverse the tremendous progress our nation has made in recent years in lowering the unintended pregnancy rate. Instead of fulfilling its mission ‘to enhance and protect the health and well-being of all Americans,’ HHS leaders under the current administration are focused on turning back the clock on women’s health.

“Contraception is a medical necessity for women during approximately 30 years of their lives. It improves the health of women, children and families as well as communities overall; reduces maternal mortality; and enhances economic stability for women and their families.

“All Americans deserve the ability to make personal health care decisions without intrusion from their employers or the government.”

For more information, please refer to ACOG’s initial statement on this rule, published when the text was leaked in May.

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (The College), a 501(c)(3) organization, is the nation’s leading group of physicians providing health care for women. As a private, voluntary, nonprofit membership organization of more than 58,000 members, The College 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. The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), a 501(c)(6) organization, is its companion organization. www.acog.org