It’s No Surprise the AMA Is Leaving Abortion Providers Twisting in the Wind | Abortion
In fact, the American Medical Association led the charge to criminalize abortion in the United States in the mid-1800s.
A week after the Supreme Court struck down the constitutional right to abortion in June, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, an abortion provider in Indiana, shared a particularly poignant story with local media: One of her The patient that week was a 10-year-old girl who was raped. The girl could not get an abortion in her home state of Ohio, where a six-week ban was then in effect (since blocked in state court). She is forced to travel across state lines to Indiana, where Bernard takes her into care.
Bernard was immediately attacked by conservative pundits and politicians who labeled the story a hoax. Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost, who has repeatedly questioned Bernard’s story, claimed his office didn’t hear a “whisper” of any such crime. In Indiana, Attorney General Todd Rokita announced the investigation to Bernard, alleging that she may not have reported the abortion in accordance with state law. But documents proved that he hadand a few weeks later, there was a boy arrested and charged related to rape.
Bernard told the truth. Above all, he gave compassionate care to a child in need. But despite all the evidence supporting his story, Rokita filed a formal complaint against her with the state’s medical licensing board, potentially jeopardizing her ability to practice medicine and sending a frightening message to other abortion providers.
A doctor did his job and was attacked for it. So where is the outrage from the rest of the medical community? Even fellow doctors have spoke in Bernard’s defense and raised funds for his legal expenses and security needs, the only professional organizations that have issued statements or even acknowledged the case are the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists and Doctors for Reproductive Health.
“It really speaks to where the organization’s loyalties lie,” said Dr. Katie McHugh, an Indiana-based OB-GYN, abortion provider, and board member of Physicians for Reproductive Health. “The American Medical Association and similar organizations should be rushing to the defense and providing emotional and financial support for any physician who is targeted in this way for doing their job. The fact that they are not flying in front of everything they say about protecting safe access to abortion.”
However, the AMA’s lack of public support is less surprising given a widely unknown bit of history: The charge to criminalize abortion in the United States in the mid-1800s was led by the AMA itself. The organization has never acknowledged or apologized for this fact, even though it happened approved a more openly supportive stance on abortion care.
At the time of its formation in 1847, the AMA wielded nowhere near the kind of social and political power it does today, said Karissa Haugeberg, an associate professor in the Department of History at Tulane University.
“In the 19th century, doctors generally didn’t have much power in society,” he said.
That’s because university training for physicians is relatively new. People don’t necessarily see these doctors as better or more efficient than the practitioners they already trust for medical care, from skilled midwives to quacks and everything in between.
“As the American Medical Association was formed, their big issue was to try to criminalize abortion, arguing that only doctors should be trusted to do it because it was so dangerous,” Haugeberg said.
Until this point, abortion was widely legal and, like most obstetric and gynecological services, had largely been domain of midwives. Male physicians are increasingly eager to push these women out of practice, especially Black women who have been taking care of their own community for a long time. They were successful: By 1880, every state had some type of abortion-restricting law on the books, and by 1910, it was illegal in every state. There are some exceptions to these laws, and only doctors are empowered to determine who qualifies.
“I hesitate to use the term ‘reparations’ in this context, but the American Medical Association owes everyone an apology” for that history, McHugh said. Instead, “by their silence, the AMA and state chapters endorse the conduct of the Indiana state attorney general.”
After all, the AMA’s campaign to legitimize physicians—at the expense of pregnant women and midwives—was extraordinarily successful.
“Now, of course, physicians have so much authority in the culture, that it almost makes it worse that they don’t go to [Bernard’s] defense,” said Haugeberg.
The AMA did not respond to a request for comment.
Another powerful organization that could better support Bernard and all abortion providers? The American Hospital Association.
“Today, hospitals have enormous power. Yes, there are physicians and there is the AMA, but most of those doctors work for hospitals that are very risk-averse,” Haugeberg said, pointing to media reports of hospitals denial of abortion care even in emergencies, or limiting it in ways beyond state law.
It’s definitely a departure from the past. For example, Haugeberg said, in New Orleans before the Roe v. Wadeit is widely known that emergency room doctors at Charity Hospital provide after-hours abortions even though it is technically illegal—an unthinkable arrangement in today’s climate.
In the 1960s and ’70s, Haugeberg added, public health practitioners were powerful allies who could influence elected officials and public opinion about the harms of abortion bans.
“It’s worth noting that public health has deteriorated so much over the last 20 to 30 years, that we don’t have a strong coalition of public health doctors,” he said. “And it doesn’t help that this is coming on the heels of COVID, where public health has become very politicized.”
That’s precisely why power players like the AMA should get involved, McHugh said. In her words, abortion care is not “cowboy medicine.” It’s safe, evidence-based, and necessary—something mainstream medical societies should be on board with.
“In some ways, I’m thankful that this happened to Dr. Bernard, because I know how good he is. I know how careful and compassionate he is, and I know how careful he is to follow all the laws,” he said. , adding that the outcome of such a storm would probably be worse for anyone but a “white, picture. – perfect healer.”
“On the other hand,” McHugh continued, “I’m devastated, not just for him, but for all of us, that it’s come to this. I live in constant fear of something like this happening to me, and I live and work in a place where I feel constantly scrutinized and monitored. But I believe this work is worth those risks.”
