House Restricts Funding for Residency Programs that Provide Abortion Training
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, May 25 , 2011
CONTACT:
NAF Communications Department
202-667-5881
press@prochoice.org
Statement of Vicki Saporta, President and CEO of the National Abortion Federation (NAF):
Today, the House of Representatives continued its assault on women’s access to abortion care by passing the Foxx amendment to the Public Health Service Act, which would restrict funding for graduate medical student education programs that provide abortion training.
This restriction could have a profound impact on the ability of medical residents to obtain training in abortion care since many residency programs receive some federal funding and ob-gyn residency programs are required to provide access to experience with induced abortion care.
Current standards for residency education programs are set by the universally recognized Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education (ACGME). In 1995, the ACGME acknowledged that abortion training opportunities had dropped to a dangerous level and adopted clear new guidelines that explicitly set forth the expectation that abortion training would be available to all ob-gyn residents.
Since nearly one-third of U.S. women will choose abortion in their lifetimes, it is essential that the physicians who care for them receive the appropriate training to provide such care. Medical residency curricula should be determined by credible academic bodies, not Congress and politicians with their own ideological agendas.
We have heard from women who needed to obtain abortion care when they were faced with a life-threatening health issue during pregnancy. If a woman is in this situation, she needs trained doctors available to provide her care. If doctors are not trained in abortion care, this inevitably puts women at risk.
The Foxx amendment is nothing more than an attempt to decrease women’s access to abortion care by reducing the number of physicians who could provide such care. We urge the Senate to block any attempts to limit abortion training for medical residents.
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The National Abortion Federation (NAF) is the professional association of abortion providers in North America. Our mission is to ensure safe, legal, and accessible abortion care to promote health and justice for women. Our members include health care professionals at clinics, doctors’ offices, and hospitals, who together care for more than half the women in North America who choose abortion each year. For more information, visit our website at www.prochoice.org.