American Association Of Pro-Life Obstetricians And Gynecologists

Donna Harrison is the current executive director of the American Association of Pro-Life OBGYNS. Harrison frequently serves as an “expert witness” in support of anti-abortion ideology, offering blatant falsehoods. A federal judge once criticized a testimony Harrison gave in support of a law that would have restricted medication abortion for resting on “an impossibly flawed premise.” Harrison believes that all hormonal birth control and emergency birth control are forms of abortion. Emails released via open records law show Harrison falsely believes abortions cause negative mental health effects and cancer. Harrison also works for leading anti-abortion group Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List’s “research” arm, the Charlotte Lozier Institute.

The Trump administration cited the volume of AAPLOG membership as justification for its “religious refusal” proposed rule, finalized in May 2019…

“The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG), which represents 2,500 members and associates,[319] wrote in 2009, “Like pro-life physicians generally, AAPLOG members overwhelmingly would leave the medical profession—or relocate to a more conscience-friendly jurisdiction—before they would accept coercion to participate or assist in procedures that violate their consciences.” [320] AAPLOG’s members and associates represent 13 percent of OB/GYNs in the United States.[321] Yet, as explained above, the Department has received significant anecdotal evidence of violations of the very conscience laws that Congress has enacted to protect such providers.” [Federal Register, 5/21/19]

…the rule allows medical providers to deny medical access to persons seeking abortions and LGBTQ individuals, as well as exempting providers from administration vaccines.

“Critics of the ‘Conscience Rule’ argue it could limit medical access for women seeking abortions, as doctors who oppose to the practice on religious grounds could refuse a woman care. There are concerns about health care professionals discriminating against LGBT individuals, in violation of medical ethics. The rule will also help protect individuals who object to administering certain vaccines.” [CBS News, 5/02/19]

AAPLOG’s claims that birth control causes abortion were key to the Burwell v. Hobby Lobby case, which led to a SCOTUS decision allowing employers to exempt certain procedures from being covered in ACA insurance plans.

“A number of religious organizations and privately held corporations claiming ‘religious exemptions’ objected to the provision, claiming despite all evidence that the ACA requires them to cover abortion-inducing medication in violation of their religious beliefs. This view ultimately prevailed before the U.S. Supreme Court in the Hobby Lobby decision, in which the arts-and-crafts chain was found to have religious beliefs protected by the Constitution. During the course of the litigation and the public debate surrounding it, opponents of the birth control benefit relied heavily on the false argument that birth control causes abortion perpetuated by Harrison and others.” [Rewire.News, Accessed 9/11/19]

AAPLOG offered an anecdotal study not supported by any other scientific data as testimony in favor of “abortion reversal” legislation in Arizona.

Former AAPLOG President Mary Davenport testified in Arizona that medication abortions can be reversed, citing only an anecdotal study when no other supporting scientific data exists.

“Dr. Mary Davenport of El Sobrante, California, is the State of Arizona’s principal witness in support of the measure. A member of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Davenport bases her claims that a medically induced abortion can be reversed on a single anecdotal study of six patients, four of whom Davenport claims were able to carry pregnancies to term, despite ingesting mifepristone, by taking a dose of progesterone shortly after ingesting mifepristone. No other scientific data exists to support Davenport’s claim.” [Legal Monitor Worldwide, 10/24/15]

AAPLOG Executive Director Donna Harrison has testified and offered to testify with medically unconfirmed information in favor of anti-abortion bills.

When Harrison served as an “expert witness” in support of a North Dakota law that restricted medication abortion, her testimony was heavily criticized by the judge for resting “on an impossibly flawed premise.”

“District Judge Wickham Corwin ruled in the plaintiffs’ favor in 2013 and heavily criticized Harrison’s testimony. He said Harrison’s argument that the FDA has prohibited or discouraged the off-label use of the abortion-inducing drug mifepristone ‘proceeds on an impossibly flawed premise.’ The state appealed the case to the North Dakota Supreme Court; the court upheld the law in October 2014.” [Rewire.News, Accessed 9/11/19]

In an email to a Florida state assembly member, Harrison offered to falsely testify that abortion causes breast cancer, suicide and major depression in favor of an anti-abortion bill.

[Florida House Of Representatives Public Records Request Received 8/15/19, Page 60]

• The American Cancer Society: “at this time, the scientific evidence does not support the notion that abortion of any kind raises the risk of breast cancer or any other type of cancer.” [Cancer.org, Accessed 8/27/19]
• According to the Journal Of American Medical Association, claims that abortions cause mental health damage are not based in fact. “The study is the latest to show no evidence that abortion causes depression. Policies that cite damage to mental health as a reason to restrict access to abortion are not based in fact, the researchers wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s JAMA Psychiatry.” [NBC News, 3/30/18]

Harrison testified in favor of a 20-week federal abortion ban, falsely claiming that it is a scientific fact that fetuses feel pain by 20 weeks.

“The Pain Capable Unborn Child Protection Act will stop these barbaric practices from happening to unborn human beings in late pregnancy, when many of them could live outside of their mother if given a chance…As an Ob doctor, I can tell you from my experience that it is scientific fact that 20 week babies are very sensitive to pain.” [Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing, 4/09/19]

• According to the Journal Of American Medical Association, fetal pain is limited and unlikely before the third trimester. “Evidence regarding the capacity for fetal pain is limited but indicates that fetal perception of pain is unlikely before the third trimester. Little or no evidence addresses the effectiveness of direct fetal anesthetic or analgesic techniques.” [JAMA Network, 8/24/05]

Harrison has testified before the FDA and The UN Committee On The Status Of Women advocating for anti-abortion causes.

“She has also spoken before the FDA Reproductive Health Advisory Committees on mifepristone and ulipristal and has addressed numerous congressional committees, as well as presenting  at the United Nations Committee on the Status of Women accessory sessions on topics related to medical abortion in developing nations, and maternal mortality and abortion.” [Donna Harrison Resume, 2/25/15]

Harrison testified for Congress asking the FDA not to approve a medication abortion pill.

“If the second panel could come forward. The second panel is Monty Patterson, father of Holly Patterson, who was 18 years old when she died taking RU-486; Dr. Susan Wood, former FDA assistant commissioner for women’s health; Dr. Lisa Rarick, RAR Consulting; Dr. Donna Harrison, a member of the Mifeprex Subcommittee of the American Association of Pro Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists; and law professor Carter Snead — Carter Snead from the University of Notre, former general counsel of the President’s Council on Bioethics.” [Government Printing Office House Hearing 109 , 5/19/06]

Harrison testified before Congress in favor of religious refusal legislation, saying that “most women think killing unborn children is wrong.”

“So who do you want to care for you and for your family, a physician with moral integrity or a physician without moral integrity? Most patients want a physician who shares their moral values, and most U.S. women think that killing unborn children is wrong. Elective abortion is not medical care, killing human beings to solve social problems is not medical care. As stated in the International Dublin Declaration on Maternal Health, and in our own ACOG mission statement, killing our unborn patients has no place in the practice of the healing arts.” [Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 113, 7/11/16]

• Religious refusal rules allow medical providers to deny medical access to persons seeking abortions and LGBTQ individuals, allowing discrimination in health care. “Critics of the ‘Conscience Rule’ argue it could limit medical access for women seeking abortions, as doctors who oppose to the practice on religious grounds could refuse a woman care. There are concerns about health care professionals discriminating against LGBT individuals, in violation of medical ethics. The rule will also help protect individuals who object to administering certain vaccines.” [CBS News, 5/02/19]

AAPLOG sent an email to its members encouraging them to testify in favor of anti-abortion legislation and hosted an “expert witness workshop” to train them.

“In a subsequent February email to members, AAPLOG encouraged them to prepare to testify as potential experts in state litigation, noting that the organization had, so far in 2017, ‘already received requests from over 10 different states to identify physician experts capable of testifying in favor of or in defense of bills and laws protecting unborn human life.’ In the same email, the organization also announced it will be hosting an ‘Expert Witness Workshop’ co-sponsored by the conservative legal group the Alliance Defending Freedom at a conference in fall 2017.” [Rewire.News, Accessed 9/11/19]

• AAPLOG’s “expert witness workshop” was co-sponsored by The Alliance Defending Freedom, a recognized hate group for its anti-LGBTQ views. “Founded by some 30 leaders of the Christian Right, the Alliance Defending Freedom is a legal advocacy and training group that has supported the recriminalization of homosexuality in the U.S. and criminalization abroad.” [SPLCenter.org, Accessed 9/11/19]

Steven Valentine received emails from Susan B. Anthony (SBA) List and AAPLOG employees with resumes for the deputy assistant secretary for the Office Of Population Affairs.

Valentine has been promoted twice since he was first hired to HHS.

On March 5, 2017, Valentine was formally appointed to be Associate Director for Policy in HHS’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH). In November 2017, Valentine became the Deputy Chief of Staff of OASH. On August 20, 2018 Valentine was promoted to Chief of Staff of the Assistant Secretary for Health. [OGE Form 278e, filed 1/13/17; LinkedIn, accessed 4/2/18; HHS Public Affairs Twitter, 8/20/18]

SBA List and AAPLOG suggested “strongly pro-life” candidates for The Deputy Assistant Secretary For The Office Of Population Affairs directly to Valentine.

In January 2018, Autumn Christensen of SBA List sent an email to AAPLOG Director Donna Harrison requesting candidates for The Deputy Assistant Secretary For The Office Of Population Affairs, specifically requesting “a female candidate with medical or public health experience.”

[EF Records Response, Page 193, 8/16/18]

• In her email, Christensen wrote that “candidates have to strike the careful balance of being strongly pro-life but also willing to carry out the requirements of a family planning program required by law to distribute a ‘broad range’ of contraceptive drugs and devices.” [EF Records Response, Page 193, 8/16/18]

Christensen noted that “with the right person in place, we see strong opportunities to redirect the program away from funding planned parenthood and instead toward funding comprehensive women’s health centers like community health centers.”

[EF Records Response, Page 193, 8/16/18]

Harrison sent an email copying Christenson, which linked her to the person she wanted to assume the position.

[EF Records Response, Page 214, 8/16/18]

On January 17, 2018, Christensen forwarded a resume for The Deputy Assistant Secretary For The Office Of Population Affairs Position to Steven Valentine, which included a copy of Harrison’s recommendation email.

[EF Records Response, pages 214-215, 8/16/18]

Diane Foley was announced as head Of OPA in May 2018

Foley was “quietly” announced head as OPA in May 2018.

“Diane Foley, who ran a Christian organization operating two Colorado anti-choice ‘crisis pregnancy centers,’ or fake clinics, was quietly installed on Tuesday as deputy assistant secretary for population affairs, where she will lead the office responsible for the Title X federal family planning program.” [Rewire.News, 5/30/18]

Foley used her medical experience to run a network of anti-abortion centers.

Foley holds a medical degree from Indiana University. [US News & World Reports, Accessed 9/10/19]

Foley served as the CEO of an anti-abortion pregnancy center network funded by extremist group Focus On The Family.

“Foley served as the president and CEO of Life Network, which, according to its website, promotes ‘life-affirming alternatives to abortio’” and operates two anti-choice clinics in the Colorado Springs area. The organization is an affiliate of CareNet, which operates one of the largest networks of fake clinics in the United States. It gets support from Focus on the Family, an anti-choice organization that opposes some forms of contraception such as intrauterine devices (IUDs).” [Rewire.News, 5/30/18]

• Southern Poverty Law Center: “No one has spread the anti-gay gospel as widely, or with as much political impact, as James Dobson, …[the founder of] Focus On The Family.” [SPLC Intelligence Report, 4/28/05]

Foley compared sex to “super gluing your fingers together,” compared banana condom demonstration to sexual harassment and advocates for “fear-based” sex ed.

Foley said she believed it could be considered “sexually harassing” to demonstrate condom use to a class with a banana.

“Speaking in her office, above one of the Life Network pregnancy centers where pregnant women are given ultrasounds and discouraged from getting abortions, Foley argues it’s difficult even to teach condom use, requiring 13 separate steps. ‘By the time you get to step six, you forget why you are even using the condom,’ she jokes. (Planned Parenthood, incidentally, has a 10-step video on its Web site, which includes steps such as ‘Don’t tear the condom while unwrapping it.’) Foley says she believes it could be considered ‘sexually harassing’ to demonstrate condom use to a class with, say, a banana.” [Colorado Springs Independent, 4/8/10]

Foley compared sex to “super gluing your fingers together.”

Foley: “So to help them understand that when God said that ‘the two shall become one flesh’ his idea was the limbic system was to protect that emotional relationship for husband and wife for life. The sexual relationship is the closest you can get physically, have you ever superglued your fingers together? It’s not a good time, I have, it’s really hard to come apart but that’s basically what happens.” [Diane Foley, WVC Student Ministries, 4/29/12, 54:00]

Foley advocated for “fear-based” sex education.

“There is a lot of social pressure to not teach kids from fear. You know when you’re talking about sex the big thing is ‘well you’re just scaring them,’ well you know my answer to that is ‘explain to me when you bring a smashed car and set it in front of my high school for a week, is that not fear-based against drunk driving? Why can’t I do the same thing for sex?” [Diane Foley, 2013, WVC Student Ministries, 4/29/12, 13:00]

Foley compared abortion to the holocaust. she also compared abortion to slavery.

Foley compared abortion to both slavery and the holocaust.

“People who are very adamant about abortion will say, ‘this is an issue of women’s rights.’ It’s which life has more value…that sounds a lot like what our nation went through in the 1800s, right? When somebody decided somebody’s life wasn’t worth living or they weren’t quite as much – they were worth what, three-fifths of a human? Is that right? What about what was happening in Europe during the World Wars, where there were groups of people that were determined they weren’t worth as much?” [Tonic, 4/5/18]

Foley lied about abortion safety, stating that it puts women at risk despite medical evidence to the contrary.

Foley: “The way abortions are done, there is not enough supervision or regulation for them and it puts women at risk. there are not the same standards as other surgical centers.”

“‘I have very strong feelings that an infant is another life and that the choice occurred before the pregnancy,’ Foley said. ‘And at that point there’s another life that their choice needs to be important too.’ When it comes to state and federal legislation, Foley said she would like to see further restrictions on abortion. ‘The way abortions are done, there is not enough supervision or regulation for them and it puts women at risk. There are not the same standards as other surgical centers, there are not the same requirements in terms of having the same hospital privileges in case something goes wrong,’ she said.” [Vice News, 2/29/16]

• According to a 2018 study, “abortions that are provided in the united states are safe and effective.” “Abortions in the United States are safe and have few complications, according to a landmark new study by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The report, called “The Safety and Quality of Abortion Care in the United States,” examined the four major methods used for abortions — medication, aspiration, dilation and evacuation, and induction — and examined women’s care from before they had the procedure through their follow-up care. ‘I would say the main takeaway is that abortions that are provided in the United States are safe and effective,’ says Ned Calonge, the co-chair of the committee that wrote the study. He is an associate professor of family medicine and epidemiology at the University of Colorado and CEO of The Colorado Trust.” [NPR, 3/16/18]

Foley peddled the debunked “post-abortion traumatic syndrome” theory, claiming that abortions make women become “cold and unapproachable” and develop “eating disorders”…

Foley asserted that “post-abortion stress” and “post-abortion traumatic syndrome” are “true, emotional diagnosis.”

Foley: “There is actually a true, emotional diagnosis that is now starting to be recognized—even though if you look at national media and secular media, they still try to ignore the fact—but there is actually a diagnosis called post-abortion stress and also post-abortion traumatic syndrome, that is a result directly of someone having an abortion or being involved with an abortion that happens, … here is the thing that is incredible to me. I am a trained physician, went through training, got not one single lecture throughout the course of my training about this situation.” [Diane Foley, Charis Bible College, 9/15/16]

Foley falsely argued that there is an association between abortion and “eating disorders,” “depression, anxiety” and “relationship difficulty.” [Diane Foley, Charis Bible College, 9/15/16]

Foley said that many women who have abortions “become very cold and unapproachable emotionally.”

Foley argued that many women who receive abortions “find a need because of the pain to deny what happened and they shut down their emotions and become very cold and unapproachable emotionally and have a lot of difficulty then reacting and responding to other people in a normal way.” [Diane Foley, Charis Bible College, 9/15/16]

… Yet There Is Little Support For So-Called “Abortion-As-Trauma.”

According To A 2010 Study Published In Social Science And Medicine, Researchers “Found Little Support For The Abortion-as-Trauma Framework.”

“Because of the potential for confounding, published research claiming to find relations between abortion and poor mental health indicators should be subjected to scrutiny and reanalysis. Using the same data and conducting the same analyses as CCSR (2009), we found that their results were not replicable, nor did our numbers approach theirs in the case of 15 mental health disorders. Moreover, we found little support for the abortion-as-trauma framework. Instead, our findings suggest that structural, psychological, and sociodemographic risk factors associated with both having an abortion and having poor mental health drive a relationship between abortion and mental health. Therefore, policy, practice, and research should focus on addressing the correlates of having mental health problems, such as violence and prior mental health problems.” [Social Science and Medicine, Vol.72, No. 1, pp. 72-82, 10/23/10]

A 2018 American Medical Association study showed “no evidence” that “abortion causes depression.”

“Abortions don’t cause depression…researchers reported Wednesday. The study is the latest to show no evidence that abortion causes depression. Policies that cite damage to mental health as a reason to restrict access to abortion are not based in fact, the researchers wrote in the Journal of the American Medical Association’s JAMA Psychiatry. “The repercussions of abortion for mental health have been used to justify state policies that limit access to abortion in the United States,” the team, led by Dr. Julia Steinberg of the Department of Family Science at the University of Maryland, wrote….Some anti-abortion-rights groups claim that psychiatrists have a diagnosis called ‘post-abortion syndrome’ or ‘post-abortion stress syndrome’, although no such diagnosis exists in medical texts.” [NBC News, 5/30/18]

Foley was invited to speak at AAPLOG’s Matthew Bulfin Educational Conference in 2019.

[Foley (Emails Only) REDACTED.pdf Responsive Records, p. 91]

Foley wrote that she wanted to use her session at the conference as an opportunity to discuss changes to the Title X Family Planning Grant Program, “hints for navigating the federal grants process” and “opportunities for engagement in policy development.”

[Foley (Emails Only) REDACTED.pdf Responsive Records, p. 89-90]

The Title X program provides reproductive health funding for low-income persons via the OPA.

The Title X Family Planning Program, administered by the OPA, was created to distribute funding grants to health care providers to help provide reproductive health services to low-income people. “The Title X Family Planning Program is a federal grant program created in 1970 to provide comprehensive and confidential family planning services and preventive health services. Services provided include contraception counseling and provision, breast and cervical cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and pregnancy diagnosis and counseling. Title X is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Population Affairs (OPA). The program prioritizes serving people and families with low-incomes and is implemented through grants to over 3500 clinical sites, including public health departments and non-profit health centers.” [Physicians For Reproductive Health, Accessed 9/10/19]

The Title X program provides reproductive health funding for low-income persons via the OPA.

The Title X Family Planning Program, administered by the OPA, was created to distribute funding grants to health care providers to help provide reproductive health services to low-income people. “The Title X Family Planning Program is a federal grant program created in 1970 to provide comprehensive and confidential family planning services and preventive health services. Services provided include contraception counseling and provision, breast and cervical cancer screenings, testing and treatment for sexually transmitted infections, and pregnancy diagnosis and counseling. Title X is administered by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Population Affairs (OPA). The program prioritizes serving people and families with low-incomes and is implemented through grants to over 3500 clinical sites, including public health departments and non-profit health centers.” [Physicians For Reproductive Health, Accessed 9/10/19]

In June 2018, HHS proposed a “gag rule” that would prevent Title X grantees from even referring patients for abortions.

June 2018: Trump’s HHS proposed a “gag rule” to prohibit Title X recipients from even referring for abortion.

“For these reasons, the Department proposes to change the Title X regulations to eliminate the requirement that Title X projects provide abortion referral and counseling. In addition, consistent with the purpose of the program, the proposed rule would prohibit recipients from using Title X funds to perform, promote, refer for, or support abortion as a method of family planning. This rule would better align with both the best reading of section 1008 and with the Federal conscience statutes.” [Federal Register, Proposed Rule, Compliance with Statutory Program Integrity Requirements, 6/1/18]

The HHS Title X “gag rule” requires the physical and financial separation of facilities that provide abortion from other forms of health care,

HHS’ proposed “gag rule”: “requiring clear financial and physical separation between Title X funded projects and programs or facilities where abortion is a method of family planning.”

“The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is issuing a proposal to update the regulations governing the Title X family planning program, which focuses on serving low-income Americans. … Key elements of the proposed update include: Requiring clear financial and physical separation between Title X funded projects and programs or facilities where abortion is a method of family planning.” [Press Release, HHS, 5/22/18]

The HHS Title X “gag rule” could cause health care providers to destroy or return their birth control.

Health clinics that have left the Title X program may have to destroy or return tens of thousands of dollars of birth control and other medications.

“Health clinics that quit the federal family planning program over new Trump administration anti-abortion rules may have to destroy or return tens of thousands of dollars of contraceptives and other medications. Federal health officials confirmed to POLITICO that clinics might need to get rid of drugs, intrauterine devices and other treatments they bought at a discount while part of the Title X program, a long-standing requirement that’s catching some providers by surprise as they weigh whether to comply with new rules that, among other things, forbid abortion referrals.” [Politico Pro, 7/26/19]

• Hormone treatments are among the drugs purchased with the Title X discount that may be returned or destroyed. “Clinic operators say they may have to return or destroy IUDs, hormonal patches, NuvaRings and birth control pills if they leave the federal family planning program. And since Title X also serves people who want to become pregnant, stocks of hormone treatments might have to be tossed as well.” [Politico Pro, 7/26/19]

Planned Parenthood, multiple states and other health care providers are leaving the Title X program rather than comply with the Title X “gag rule.”

HHS was set to enforce the Title X “gag rule” In July 2019. 

“The Trump administration says it will begin immediately enforcing new rules barring federal family planning dollars to groups that provide abortions or make referrals for the procedure, ending weeks of uncertainty about the status of the overhaul.” [Politico Pro, 7/15/19]

Planned Parenthood left the Title X program rather than comply with the Title X “gag rule.”

“Planned Parenthood is leaving the federal Title X family planning program rather than comply with new Trump administration rules regarding abortion counseling. The new rules, issued by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services earlier this year, prohibit Title X grantees from providing or referring patients for abortion, except in cases of rape, incest or medical emergency.” [NPR, 8/19/19]

As of August 2019, six states have left the Title X program rather than comply with the “gag rule.”

“At least six states no longer have access to the money provided by the Title X program, which once funded some 4,000 U.S. clinics offering services like STI testing, cancer screenings, and birth control. Rather than comply with the administration’s decree that these providers no longer refer patients for abortions — which reproductive health advocates say amount to an unethical ‘gag rule’ — state health departments and individual organizations across the country have decided to leave the program entirely.” [Vice News, 8/30/19]

The exodus of providers from the Title X “gag rule” is expected to have negative effects on access to services for low-income people.

Vice News: “not having access to that money could cripple states’ ability to provide services to the 4-million low-income people, largely women of color, served by Title X.” [Vice News, 8/30/19]

After leaving the nation’s Title X Program, Planned Parenthood patients face higher fees, longer wait times and confusion. 

“In Cleveland, a Planned Parenthood mobile clinic that tests for sexually transmitted diseases has cut its staff to part-time and may shut down. In Minneapolis, women and girls accustomed to free checkups are now billed as much as $200 per visit on a sliding fee scale. And in Vienna, W.Va., Planned Parenthood employees are marking boxes of birth control pills with “Do not use” signs because they were paid for with federal grants the organization can no longer accept.” [Washington Post, 8/24/19]

Planned Parenthood’s lack of Title X funding is expected to cause longer waits at some clinics and the complete shutdown of others. 

“‘The long-term effects of that are going to be tremendous,’ she added. ‘What you see in states that have taken away funds through some more mechanisms is that inevitably clinics closed. The wait times do extend. Some providers try to hold on and they just can’t, some close, some continue to go on, some shut down some clinics but not others.’” [Harper’s Bazaar, 8/22/19]

Planned Parenthood’s loss of Title X funding is expected to cause the cost of reproductive care to go up. 

“Birth control and reproductive health care services that are provided with Title X funding are expected to become ‘more out of reach,” but it’s “hard to say exactly what that looks like just yet,’ a Planned Parenthood official said. Sarah Varney of Kaiser Health News told PBS NewsHour that according to various reproductive health care programs around the country, ‘women will start to pay more out of pocket when they go to these clinics.’” [Harper’s Bazaar, 8/22/19]

APPLOG uses legal mechanisms to support restrictive state-level anti-abortion policy.

AAPLOG was blocked from intervening in a legal battle over restrictive abortion clinic regulations in Kansas.

“A federal judge today said that an out-of-state group of physicians opposed to abortion can’t intervene in the legal battle over new Kansas rules for abortion clinics. U.S. District Judge Carlos Murguia said today that the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists had too remote and speculative interest to join the case as a defendant. The group sought to intervene, claiming its members have to unfairly bear the cost of women who seek treatment for complications from abortion procedures. However, Murguia ruled that the group offered vague and deficient evidence.” [Kansas City Star, 9/29/11]

AAPLOG has filed Briefs in support of religious refusal laws, which allow for discrimination by medical providers.

AAPLOG backed the federal government in a lawsuit which challenged the government’s authority to impose sanctions on states that oppose religious refusal laws.

“A federal judge dismissed on Tuesday California’s challenge to a federal anti-abortion law that threatens the state with huge financial penalties, saying the lawsuit – filed in January 2005 – was premature because the alleged state-federal conflict might never arise… Attorney Timothy Smith, who represented the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists and other organizations backing the federal government’s defense of the Weldon amendment, said the ruling is a satisfactory resolution.” [San Francisco Chronicle, 3/19/08]

AAPLOG filed an Amicus Brief in favor of Hobby Lobby’s suit, which would allow private employers to deny ACA coverage based on religious beliefs.

“In an amicus brief filed last week, the Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (AAPS) argues that requiring Hobby Lobby to pay for drugs and devices with life-ending mechanisms of action is an unconstitutional violation of its freedom of conscience…Mailee R. Smith of Americans United for Life wrotethis brief for AAPSand the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians & Gynecologists, Christian Medical Association, Catholic Medical Association, National Catholic Bioethics Center, Physicians for Life, and National Association of Pro Life Nurses.” [PR Newswire, 2/26/13]

Religious refusal rules allow medical providers to deny medical access to persons seeking abortions and LGBTQ individuals, allowing discrimination in health care.

“Critics of the ‘Conscience Rule’ argue it could limit medical access for women seeking abortions, as doctors who oppose to the practice on religious grounds could refuse a woman care. There are concerns about health care professionals discriminating against LGBT individuals, in violation of medical ethics. The rule will also help protect individuals who object to administering certain vaccines.” [CBS News, 5/02/19]