Texas Medical Groups Push Back Against Proposed Rule To Stop Doctors From Talking About Abortion
More than simply banning abortion providers like Planned Parenthood from participating in the Texas Women’s Health Program (WHP), the state Department of Health and Human Services has proposed new rules that would prevent any doctor in the program from discussing the option of abortion with patients. But medical groups in Texas are pushing back against this restrictive measure. In a letter to the state health department, the Texas Medical Association and four other groups representing 47,000 doctors and medical students explained that the provision would endanger ethics and relationships with patients if they cannot discuss all options: “The relationship between patient and physician is based on trust and creates the physician’s ethical obligations to place the patient’s welfare above his or her own personal politics, self-interest and above obligations to other groups ,” the letter states. State health officials responded in a written statement, saying they appreciate the groups’ con...