The Bioethics Committee of the SCCMA approves and endorses the following statement by the President of the CMA, Robert E. Wailes, M.D. following the Dobbs decision.
The Bioethics Committee of the SCCMA approves and endorses the following statement by the President of the CMA, Robert E. Wailes, M.D. following the Dobbs decision.
“Today the U.S. Supreme Court has rolled back the fundamental rights of Americans to receive evidence-based reproductive health care, and in doing so has put the lives and welfare of millions of women at risk.
The California Medical Association has long advocated for unencumbered access to reproductive health services and strongly believes that all personal medical decisions—including those around abortion—should be made by patients in consultation with their health care providers.
Today’s decision undermines decades of progress in health care for pregnant people, and we consider it a direct attack on the practice of medicine.
We stand committed to doing all we can to protect the fundamental human right to access reproductive health services, including abortion and contraception, and we will work to end the criminalization of those services.”
In addition, the SCCMA Bioethics Committee believes that the U.S. Supreme Court decision violates the basic ethical principles of:
- Autonomy, which allows patients to control their own bodies and protects them from unwanted intrusions, and
- Non-maleficence, which protects patients from decisions that will result in their harm.
For these reasons, we oppose the decision and will work to protect all reproductive rights of women in our community.