Statement attributable to:
Ryan D. Mire, MD, MACP
President, ACP
WASHINGTON March 3, 2023 – The American College of Physicians (ACP) is deeply concerned by the law passed yesterday by the Wyoming legislature that would ban medication abortions in the state and threatens physicians with jail time and hefty fines. ACP has been alarmed by many of the recent restrictions on reproductive services that would subject physicians to stiff criminal penalties for providing abortion care. Physicians need to be free to care for our patients in accordance with our clinical judgment without being threatened with punitive laws. In a new policy that ACP published just this week, Reproductive Health Policy in the United States, we noted that medication used to perform abortions is considered safe and effective, and that major complication risks are rare. ACP also opposes restrictive laws that impose criminal or civil penalties for providing, receiving, referring, assisting, or otherwise facilitating clinically appropriate health care services, such as medication abortions, that meet the standard of care. We strongly object to policies like this that interfere in the patient-physician relationship. Instead, we should be looking for ways to promote equitable access to reproductive health care services and to safeguard maternal health.
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About the American College of Physicians
The American College of Physicians is the largest medical specialty organization in the United States with members in more than 145 countries worldwide. ACP membership includes 160,000 internal medicine physicians, related subspecialists, and medical students. Internal medicine physicians are specialists who apply scientific knowledge and clinical expertise to the diagnosis, treatment, and compassionate care of adults across the spectrum from health to complex illness. Follow ACP on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.
Contact: Jacquelyn Blaser, (202) 261-4572, jblaser@acponline.org