In a move aimed at protecting medical providers, Attorney General Kwame Raoul, alongside 20 other attorneys general, has called on the American Medical Association (AMA) to ensure those providing abortion and gender-affirming care can get board-certified without unnecessary legal and physical risks. According to the Office of the Illinois Attorney General, the coalition urges the adoption of policies that would negate the need for health care professionals to travel to states with harsh restrictions, notably Texas, for in-person board certification tests.
Highlighting the precarious situation, Raoul and the collective underscored that obstetricians and gynecologists are still expected to travel to Texas for their board certification exams conducted by the American Board of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ABOG), despite the state's severe abortion and gender-affirming care restrictions. Mandating providers to go to Texas, having criminalized such health care options, could jeopardize their careers and safety. Illinois medical professionals should not be at risk in states that criminalize the very health care they lawfully provide, Raoul stated, as per the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.
The coalition's demands include the relocation of testing sites to states without restrictive laws, the adoption of remote testing to avoid travel to hostile legal environments, and the provision of individual exemptions from in-person exams for those facing elevated risks. By refusing to accommodate candidates who may face prosecution or physical harm in Texas, the ABOG has been accused of putting providers at needless risk and, consequently, affecting nationwide access to essential care, as reported by the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.
Attorneys general from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington have joined Raoul in this push.
