Schaumburg, Illinois May 22, 2019 (Issuewire.com) - Access to abortion and family planning has been shown to have a dramatic positive impact on women's maternal health. As an organization dedicated to the advancement of women's health, the American Medical Women's Association (AMWA) supports access to safe and legal abortion as part of comprehensive reproductive health care for all women.
AMWA, an organization of women physicians and medical students, values equality for women and equal opportunity for women to achieve their full professional and personal potential. AMWA’s mission is to support policies and programs that improve women's health. The Association has high respect for each member and her right to hold whatever moral, religious, and philosophical beliefs her conscience dictates - and to practice her profession and order her personal life accordingly.
AMWA strongly opposes the recent law in Alabama that in essence bans abortion, even in cases of rape or incest. Restrictive laws that limit access to abortion, such as the six-week abortion bans passed by the Mississippi, Ohio, Kentucky and Georgia legislatures also restrict the doctor-patient relationship and put women’s reproductive health at risk.
A pregnancy that is unintended or unwanted carries a greater medical risk for the woman because neglected prenatal care results in higher rates of pregnancy-related disease and death. AMWA holds that a pregnant woman's decision to complete or terminate a pregnancy is a medical issue to be made in the privacy of the doctor-patient relationship. Every pregnancy taken to term requires high standards of prenatal care to assure the best possible outcome.
AMWA will continue to oppose efforts to overturn or weaken Roe v. Wade. We will oppose laws and court rulings that interfere with the doctor-patient relationship; and measures that limit access to medical care for pregnant women, particularly for poor or underserved groups.
In light of all the aforementioned considerations, AMWA holds that the decision to continue or interrupt a pregnancy belongs to the pregnant woman, in consultation with her physician.
Media Contact
American Medical Women's Association ExecutiveDirector@amwa-doc.org 510-326-5395 1100 E Woodfield Road, Suite 350 http://amwa-doc.org
