The following is a statement from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG):

"ACOG unequivocally condemns the misrepresentation and exploitation of the medical emergencies, complications, and deaths of pregnant people by groups aiming to advance their harmful anti-abortion political agenda.

"Their attempts to misuse examples of tragic deaths that result from abortion bans reflect a shocking disregard for the very real people who pay the price of ideological interference in essential reproductive health care. This latest misinformation campaign proves once again that anti-abortion activists are willing to see people suffer and die to prevent access to abortion care and miscarriage management.

"There is no doubt that abortion bans are preventing ob-gyns and other clinicians from providing health care to their patients, and that those patients and their families are suffering as a result. We know this from the heart-wrenching personal accounts shared over the last two years that show doctors and patients alike forced into impossible situations that risked their lives, health, freedom, and livelihoods.

"People driven by ideology who worked tirelessly to put these anti-abortion laws in place are blaming everyone but themselves for the mounting harms these abortion bans are causing.

"An Associated Press analysis found that more than 100 women in medical distress were unable to obtain care across states that have restricted or banned abortion since the Dobbs decision in 2022. We've heard stories of pregnant patients being forced to be airlifted out of their state for care, miscarry in public restrooms, or wait in parking lots to hemorrhage or wait to develop sepsis before they're able to get care because the limitations on care created by abortion laws are so great. This is the inevitable result of laws that replace medical judgment about real-life situations with legislatively mandated limits on care.

"Clinicians practicing in restricted states who have trained for years and built careers on providing dedicated, compassionate care for others desperately want to help their patients and provide the care they need. Doctors are being forced to practice under draconian laws designed to prevent care in the nuanced and complex situations that occur in real life. These doctors are struggling, too, facing the despair of being prevented from providing lifesaving care. They are suffering grave moral injury, serious risk to their livelihoods, and potential loss of their personal freedom alongside their patients' lives.

"There is no edit, no amendment, no addendum to these terrible bans that can undo the harm they have created and allow for full access to care. Simply put, abortion bans must be repealed in order to ensure full access to safe, essential reproductive health care for all people. Decisions must be left to patients in consultation with their trusted clinicians, not abortion opponents or laws designed to prevent life- and health-saving reproductive health care. It is the purpose, intent, and effect of these laws to deprive patients of access to safe and reliable reproductive health care. A belated cry of 'blame the doctors' will not change that fact; it is only a callous attempt to divert attention from the damage done by legislative interference in decisions surrounding reproductive health care."