CMA Physicians Laud HHS Secretary Leavitt for Protecting Physicians and Patients on Abortion and Con

June 30, 2008 - 8:58 PDT

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY

CMA Physicians Laud HHS Secretary Leavitt for Protecting Physicians and Patients on Abortion and Conscience Issue

Washington (JUNE 30, 2008) - The Christian Medical Association (CMA, www.cmda.org), the nation's largest faith-based organization of physicians, today lauded U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Michael O. Leavitt for encouraging the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG) to clearly publish assurances that it will not decertify or otherwise penalize physicians who do not perform or refer for abortions.

CMA CEO David Stevens said, "Secretary Leavitt is serving America's physicians and patients well by prodding ABOG to provide assurances that it will uphold fundamental principles of conscience protections in healthcare. Protecting the right for physicians to abide by longstanding ethical codes such as the Hippocratic Oath is one of the best ways to protect patients--by insuring that their physicians follow time-tested objective standards and not ideological whims or politically motivated pressures."

Secretary Leavitt's letter addresses ABOG's written guidance, published in December, that links its physician certification procedures with the ethics positions of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG). Those ACOG positions include a controversial official position issued in November that called upon conscience-objecting obstetricians to refer patients for abortions--an act which many such physicians consider unethical.

Dr. Stevens noted, "As Secretary Leavitt has pointed out, forcing physicians to refer for abortions not only violates ethical standards; it may also violate federal laws such as the Weldon amendment, which prohibits discrimination in certain cases from forcing physicians and institutions to 'provide, pay for, provide coverage of, or refer for abortions.'"

Stevens said, " An informal survey of our membership revealed that over 41 percent have been 'pressured to compromise Biblical or ethical convictions.' Over 46 percent "know of a colleague in medicine who has experienced' such pressure. We have been working hard to raise awareness of and counter the attack on conscience rights in healthcare--not just to protect our members and their patients, but also to protect physicians and patients of conscience nationwide."

Dr. Gene Rudd, an obstetrician and CMA Senior Vice President, said, "It's one thing for ACOG to allow for differences of opinion on abortion, and quite another to require its members to submit to the ACOG leadership's decidedly partisan position on abortion." Dr. Rudd canceled his ACOG membership as a result of the organization's abortion referral mandate.

Leavitt's letter of June 20 to ABOG notes, "Amending current and future ABOG Bulletins to clarify specifically which ACOG rules and principles the Bulletin refers to would reduce potential future confusion over this issue. So too would amending the Bulletin, or another appropriate ABOG document, to reflect your statement that physicians' refusal to perform or refer for services that violate their ethical or moral standards is not a consideration in certification."

On March 14, Secretary Leavitt sent a letter to the Board that noted, "It appears that the interaction of the [ABOG Bulletin for 2008 Maintenance of Certification] with the ACOG ethics report would force physicians to violate their conscience by referring patients for abortions or taking other objectionable actions, or risk losing their board certification."

To schedule an interview, please contact Margie Shealy at (423) 844-1047 or by e-mail: margie.shealy@cmda.org. The Christian Medical Association is equipped with Ku Band Digital Uplink satellite and ISDN lines.

Links included in news release

Christian Medical Association (CMA) - http://www.cmda.org

ACOG Committee Opinion #385 - http://www.acog.org/from_home/publications/ethics/co385.pdf

HHS News Release: HHS Secretary Calls on Certification Group to Protect Conscience Rights - http://www.hhs.gov/news/press/2008pres/03/20080314a.html

-30-

Contact

Christian Medical & Dental Associations
http://www.cmda.org
TN, US
Margie Shealy - VP for Communications, 423 844-1047

Keywords

Right of Conscience

Category

Morality

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