Like many of you, the American College of Osteopathic Pediatricians is both saddened and alarmed by the attack on women’s reproductive healthcare staged by the U.S. Supreme Court decision in the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. We reaffirm our pledge to provide the highest quality comprehensive medical care to all of our patients which includes reproductive health for adolescents who entrust their care to an Osteopathic Pediatrician. This pledge includes providing or referring for abortion care in alignment with our patients’ wishes. We share in the fear that this ruling will be felt exponentially more for our adolescent patients in rural, underserved areas and Black and Brown patients who are already at a 3x higher risk of death or major morbidity as a result of pregnancy and childbirth. We view this roll-back of reproductive health and women’s right to choose as a public health crisis and a direct insult to the sanctity of the patient-physician relationship.
We will continue to advocate for our patients to ensure access to this extremely important and private health care decision and will do everything in our power to support the providers who are now in fear of persecution for providing or referring for this service. We will work with our medical colleagues to ensure this vital need remains accessible to all pregnant-capable patients. As the landscape continues to change, we will do our best to provide you with the most up-to-date resources.
