The recent decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, reversing the landmark 1973 Roe v. Wade decision, allows the states to enact laws and regulations impacting individual access to abortion. The AACP Board of Directors is concerned that this decision will have a significantly negative impact on the lives of many women and their families, and will deepen disparities in access to health care for many vulnerable patients, especially women of color and all women living in communities with already limited access to health care services. We are also concerned that the Dobbs decision has broader implications beyond access to abortion and may lay the foundation for other actions that restrict patient privacy rights that have been long-established by the court.
AACP envisions a world of healthy people through the transformation of health professions education. As educators, researchers and health care professionals, members of AACP are committed to the principles of diversity, equity, inclusion, accessibility, justice and anti-racism, and seek opportunities to eradicate structural and systemic racism to address social determinants of health, diminish health disparities and promote racial equity.
AACP is committed to ensuring that our learners are prepared to provide reproductive care for the patients they will one day serve, and that our faculty, preceptors and the alumni of our nation’s colleges and schools of pharmacy can continue to provide that care on a daily basis. We call on Congress to act with legislation that strengthens privacy rights, and restores and ensures equal and accessible reproductive health services for all.