Pro-abortion OB-GYN group refuses federal funds over policy

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists last week told its members that it would stop accepting federal funding from current contracts. It may be the first national physician organization to make such a move. The organization’s charity arm, the ACOG Foundation, this year received $950,000 from the Department of Health and Human Services to oversee reviews and to update preventive guidelines for women. In 2021, it received over $12 million in federal funds. New federal funding laws and regulations would hinder ACOG from meeting its policy goals and providing care according to its recommendations, the organization wrote to its members.

Why did ACOG refuse funding? The national group is staunchly pro-abortion and promotes so-called gender-affirming care. It also issues guidelines for family planning, pregnancy, and postpartum care and has prioritized diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. President Donald Trump’s executive orders contradict many of ACOG’s policy positions. So far this year, the president has issued orders to stop using federal funds for abortions, protect children from transgender medical interventions, and eliminate so-called offices for diversity, equality, and inclusion.

The group earlier this year said it would develop and release its own maternal immunization recommendations after the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ended its recommendation that pregnant women get COVID shots.

Have any groups called for ACOG to lose funding before? Alliance Defending Freedom in April urged the HHS to consider stripping the OB-GYN group of its federal funding. The Christian legal advocacy group said that ACOG promoted harmful positions on gender identity, abortion, and race, and espoused legally questionable guidelines for insurance coverage.

Dig deeper: Read my report in Vitals about the misconception that OB-GYNs are leaving pro-life states.