ASRM Issues Statement Regarding Roe v. Wade and Its Possible Implications on Access to Reproductive Care
May 03, 2022
Author: ASRM
Origin: ASRM Bulletin
Like you, I am very concerned by the leaked draft of the Supreme Court decision in the Mississippi abortion case. ASRM supports access to all forms of reproductive care, and we have opposed and worked against abortion restrictions. We are also fighting hard against state legislation which either intentionally or otherwise may endanger access to infertility care. Rest assured we will be monitoring, advocating, and keeping you informed as this process unfolds.
Health care decisions, particularly on reproductive matters, need to be the purview of patients and their physicians, not politicians. This leaked Supreme Court decision is both troubling and antithetical to its stated goal of protecting lives. Patients need and deserve unfettered access to reproductive medical care, including that which supports the basic human right to build a family. It is not lost on us that the leaked draft opinion all but provides a roadmap to state lawmakers chomping at the bit to enact trigger laws to end in-state abortion access. Moreover, while the immediate target of these restrictions is abortion care, there is a clear and present danger that measures designed to restrict abortion could end up also curtailing access to the family building treatments upon which our infertility patients rely to build their families. In other words: not only does this draft decision threaten the health of pregnant people, it may also lead to fewer healthy babies being born to loving parents. ASRM remains committed to protecting the ability of our members to provide their patients the care they need, the political preferences of unelected Supreme Court Justices and certain state legislators notwithstanding.
Dr. Marcelle Cedars
ASRM President