The country’s largest physician organization is taking a stronger stance on reproductive rights as the U.S. Supreme Court nears a decision that could overturn Roe v. Wade.
At its annual meeting in Chicago this week, the American Medical Association’s (AMA's) delegates voted to adopt resolutions that oppose state-level measures to criminalize abortion and other reproductive care services.
In accordance with the new policy, the AMA will seek expanded legal protections for patients and physicians against government systems of control and punishment that criminalize reproductive health services, the organization said in a press release.
The resolutions (PDF) were approved by unanimous consent Monday evening by the organization’s House of Delegates, Bloomberg Law reported Monday.
In the resolution, the AMA delegates recognize that healthcare, including reproductive health services like contraception and abortion, is a human right.
One resolution opposes “limitations on access to evidence-based reproductive health services" and another resolution supports the availability of mifepristone, a drug that can be used to induce an abortion, and calls on the Food and Drug Administration to lift safety requirements on the drug.
The resolutions approved by the AMA's policymaking body go further from the physician organization's previous positions that connected its abortion policies to the law, Bloomberg Law reported.
“A growing number of current and pending laws insert government into the patient-physician relationship by dictating limits or bans on reproductive health services and criminally punish or penalize patients for their health decisions,” said AMA incoming President Jack Resneck Jr., M.D., in a statement. “The new policy also calls for AMA to seek legal protections for patients who cross state lines to receive reproductive health services, as well as legal protections for physicians and others who support or provide reproductive health services or referrals to patients who cross state lines.”
The AMA said it will continue to challenge criminal or civil penalties on patients who receive reproductive health services as well as physicians, other health professionals, health systems and patient advocates for aiding, assisting, supporting or providing reproductive health services or referrals to patients. The new policy strengthens the AMA’s long-held position opposing political intrusions into the practice of medicine that infringe on the patient-physician relationship and compromise patient access to safe, evidence-based medical care, the organization said.
Here are four other issues the AMA tackled during the first day of its annual meeting:
Firearm violence: With the rising availability of homemade “ghost guns,” the AMA called on state legislatures and Congress to subject these weapons to the same regulations and licensing requirements as traditional firearms. Over the past two decades, the AMA has developed numerous policy recommendations to reduce firearm trauma, injury and death, including a waiting period for firearm availability and background checks for all firearm purchasers.
“America’s physicians treat gun violence victims every single day, and we see it for the public health crisis that it is. We see the urgency of the moment, and we call on Congress to meet the moment. The AMA has exhaustive policy to address the public health crisis of gun violence. These policies – and laws – need to be constantly updated to address the pernicious ingenuity of gun manufacturers,” said AMA Trustee Thomas J. Madejski, M.D. in a statement.
The organization also will support legislation requiring that packaging for any firearm ammunition produced in, sold in, or exported from the United States carry a boxed warning.
At a minimum, the warning should be text-based statistics and/or graphic warning labels related to the risks, harms, and mortality associated with firearm ownership and use. It also should include an explicit recommendation that ammunition be stored securely and separately from firearms, the AMA said.
“Evidence suggests that graphic warning labels on tobacco packaging reduced tobacco use. With the frightening frequency of mass shootings, this approach on ammunition might save lives as part of a comprehensive approach to firearm dangers,” Madejski said.
Climate change: The AMA adopted a new policy declaring climate change a public health crisis. Building on existing efforts to address the climate crisis, the new policy specifically mobilizes the AMA to advocate for policies that limit global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius, reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions aimed at carbon neutrality by 2050 and support rapid implementation and incentivization of clean energy solutions and significant investments in climate resilience through a climate justice lens.
As part of the new policy, the AMA will develop a strategic plan for how to enact its climate change policies, including advocacy priorities and strategies to decarbonize physician practices.
“The scientific evidence is clear—our patients are already facing adverse health effects associated with climate change, from heat-related injuries, vector-borne diseases and air pollution from wildfires, to worsening seasonal allergies and storm-related illness and injuries. Like the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate crisis will disproportionately impact the health of historically marginalized communities,” said AMA board member Ilse Levin, D.O., in a statement.
"Taking action now won’t reverse all of the harm done, but it will help prevent further damage to our planet and our patients’ health and well-being," Levin said.
Tackling the public health "infodemic": The AMA adopted a recommendation to curb public health disinformation spread by health professionals through education, fact-checking and, if necessary, disciplinary action.
Disinformation that spread during the COVID-19 pandemic about treatments and vaccines has been described as a secondary “infodemic,” where permanent harm may be done to the trust in institutions due to the sheer volume of disinformation spread in a rapidly changing and sensitive environment, according to an AMA Board of Trustees report adopted at the 2022 AMA Annual Meeting in Chicago.
“The public health emergency was undoubtedly worsened and prolonged due to disinformation campaigns sowing distrust in vaccines, pharmaceutical interventions and public health mitigation measures,” the report authors wrote. “Health professionals spreading disinformation lends credibility to specious claims.”
A Center for Countering Digital Hate study that found nearly two-thirds of the anti-vaccine social media posts—or more than 812,000 individual posts—could be traced back to a mere twelve individuals, nicknamed the “Disinformation Dozen.”
"The AMA is committed to confronting disinformation, and we need to address the root of the problem. We must ensure that health professionals spreading disinformation aren’t able to use far-reaching platforms, often benefitting them financially, to disseminate dangerous health claims. While we are unlikely to undo the harms caused by disinformation campaigns during the COVID-19 pandemic, we can act now to help prevent the spread of disinformation in the future," said AMA President Gerald E. Harmon, M.D., in a statement.
Poverty-level wages and impact on health: One in 10 Americans lives in poverty. The AMA's policymaking body adopted a policy stating that “poverty is detrimental to health" and will advocate for federal and state governments to adjust minimum wage levels in the future to keep pace with inflation.
“Simply put, decreasing poverty improves health,” said AMA trustee David H. Aizuss, M.D., in statement. “The COVID-19 pandemic created a concurrent public health and economic crisis that exposed and exacerbated access to care and other social inequities."
"Not only has the pandemic disproportionally impacted minoritized and marginalized communities, but economic insecurity, housing insecurity, and food insecurity have disproportionately burdened communities of color and other historically marginalized populations—all highlighting in stark relief the fact that people with low incomes have worse health outcomes. Too many people are working full-time jobs—sometimes more than one job—and are unable to rise above poverty wages. That must change," Aizuss said.