Media Contact:
Kelly Thibert, D.O., M.P.H., National President
American Medical Student Association
Email: pr@amsa.org
Sterling, VA – March 2, 2017: Today, AMSA stands behind the reintroduction of the Women’s Health Protection Act. The Act would defend the constitutional rights of every woman to decide for herself whether to continue or end a pregnancy – no matter where she lives. The Women’s Health Protection Act, first introduced in 2015, is a federal bill that would protect patients from laws that shame women for their personal health care decisions by interfering with a patient’s personal decision making, imposing restrictions on abortion that do not effect medical care and blocking access to safe, legal abortion care.
AMSA National President Dr. Kelly Thibert notes that “It is essential that Congress pass the Women’s Health Protection Act to ensure that each woman can make decisions based on her personal values, the advice of the medical professionals she trusts and what is right for her family.”
The American Medical Student Association (AMSA) seeks quality, affordable health care for all and we feel that it is of the utmost importance for us to take a stand when half of the general population and our future patients cannot access the care that they need. As physicians-in-training we believe that matters of reproductive health are to be private and sensitive. We support the right of patients to make these decisions in confidence with their physician and without the interference of any third party. Access to full-spectrum reproductive health care, including abortion, is essential to women’s and families’ overall health and well-being, also serving as a means for improving health disparities.
It is the responsibility of physicians to promote the health of communities, which includes ensuring access to comprehensive reproductive health care. We should be free to fulfill our ethical obligations to patients and society, without political interference. AMSA will continue to support women, our future patients, by respecting their autonomy and advocating for comprehensive reproductive health care, including abortion, ensuring that their health, safety and rights are placed above politics.
About AMSA:
AMSA is the oldest and largest independent association of physicians-in-training in the United States. Founded in 1950, AMSA is a student-governed, non-profit organization committed to representing the concerns of physicians-in-training. To learn more about AMSA, our strategic priorities, or joining the organization, please visit us online at http://www.amsa.org.
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