ACOG Statement on Abortion Bans

Washington, DC — Ted Anderson, M.D., Ph.D., president of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), issued the following statement in response to the many restrictions being placed on abortion access across the country:

"ACOG strongly opposes political efforts to limit a woman’s ability to get the care she needs, including bans on abortion care. ACOG recognizes that abortion is an essential component of health care for millions of women and opposes political interference in health care. As the nation’s leading group of physicians providing health care for women, ACOG is dedicated to evidence-based and compassionate care.

“Across the country, legislation is advancing restrictions that would impose professional, civil, and even criminal penalties on physicians for providing safe, high-quality abortion care to their patients. These restrictions range from total bans to bans at arbitrary gestational ages, bans on the safest method of abortion after 12 weeks, bans based on a woman’s reason for seeking care, bans on medically-induced abortion via telemedicine, bans on physicians’ ability to exercise their best medical judgment according to their medical training, limits on which clinicians can provide abortion care, and more. Any of these restrictions would make safe and timely abortion care increasingly unavailable, which increases women’s health risks.

"Lawmakers must support health policies based on sound science and evidence. Politicians must seek to improve access to care, not restrict it. Legislative restrictions fundamentally interfere with the patient–provider relationship and decrease access to necessary care for all women, and particularly for low-income women and those living long distances from health care providers. Health care decisions should be made jointly only by patients and their trusted health care professionals, not by politicians.”

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 more than 58,000 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