Attorneys General Call on AMA to Ensure Reproductive Health Care and Gender-Affirming Care Providers Can Get Board-Certified Without Unnecessary Risk
Attorney General Dan Rayfield today joined a coalition of 19 other attorneys general in urging the American Medical Association (AMA) to take stronger action to protect health care providers from potentially dangerous medical board certification requirements. In testimony submitted to AMA », Attorney General Rayfield and the coalition argue that requiring abortion and gender-affirming care providers to travel to states that restrict those forms of care in order to get board-certified puts them in legal and physical risk. The attorneys general warn that mandating in-person testing in states that have aggressively criminalized or penalized reproductive and gender-affirming health care endangers providers and threatens access to essential care nationwide.
“Doctors providing abortion and gender-affirming care are being put at risk just for doing their jobs,” said Rayfield. “No one should have to travel to a state where they could be criminalized just to take a certification exam. We need to protect providers who are facing real legal and personal danger. This is about keeping essential care available and keeping the people who provide it safe.”
Earlier this year, AMA acknowledged the risks posed to health care providers by state laws that restrict abortion and gender-affirming care, adopting a policy encouraging medical boards to provide alternative testing options in states with such restrictions. However, Attorney General Rayfield and the coalition assert that AMA’s current stance does not go far enough to protect examinees – it lacks sufficient urgency and fails to provide policy guidance to the specialty boards on concrete steps they should take to protect candidates. The attorneys general call for AMA to go further by recommending such steps, including:
- Relocating testing sites to non-restrictive states
- Shifting to remote testing to eliminate the need for travel to hostile environments
- Granting individual exemptions from in-person exams in restrictive states for those facing heightened legal or physical risks
The coalition’s testimony highlights the increasingly hostile legal landscape for health care providers in the aftermath of the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. Following the decision, several states implemented draconian restrictions on abortion and have since taken steps to criminalize patients and providers. Many of the same states have followed by passing a wave of restrictions on gender-affirming care. The attorneys general argue that officials in these anti-choice states have made it clear their goal is to intimidate and punish reproductive health and gender-affirming care providers, no matter where the care was provided.
Attorney General Rayfield and the coalition warn that mandating in-person board certification testing in states that penalize these forms of health care could have far-reaching and harmful consequences. In particular, the attorneys general highlight the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ABOG), which requires OB/GYNs seeking board certification to travel to Texas for in-person testing. Texas has implemented some of the most severe anti-abortion legislation in the country and similarly restricts access to gender-affirming care for young people. Despite these restrictions, ABOG continues to require in-person certification exams for all obstetricians and gynecologists in Texas. The attorneys general assert that ABOG’s refusal to provide accommodations for candidates who fear prosecution or physical harm in Texas places providers at needless risk and endangers access to essential care nationwide.
The attorneys general emphasize that ensuring the safety of health care providers is essential to maintaining access to reproductive and gender-affirming care in states like Oregon. The attorneys general are urging AMA to act urgently and forcefully to ensure medical specialty boards adopt concrete, actionable policies that protect providers, warning that failure to act could exacerbate the national health care crisis.
Joining Attorney General Rayfield in submitting this testimony, are the attorneys general of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, Washington, and the District of Columbia.