American Medical Association off the sidelines in abortion debate

The American Medical Association has abandoned a neutral stance regarding abortion and has entered the fray. New state laws forcing doctors to lie to patients are seen as incompatible with their oath.

Time:

But, says AMA President Patrice Harris, the organization feels that, in light of new state laws in the U.S. that would force doctors who perform abortions to lie to patients-put "physicians in a place where we are required by law to commit an ethical violation"-it has no choice but to take a stand. One of these laws, set to take effect Aug. 1, requires physicians in North Dakota to tell patients that medication abortions-a procedure involving two drugs taken at different times-can be reversed. The AMA said that is "a patently false and unproven claim unsupported by scientific evidence." North Dakota is one of several states to pass such a measure.

The AMA, along with the last remaining abortion clinic in North Dakota, is also challenging an existing state law requiring doctors to tell pregnant women that an abortion terminates "the life of a whole, separate, unique, living human being." The AMA argues in a statement on the lawsuit that law "unconstitutionally forces physicians to act as the mouthpiece of the state."

Image by Michael F. Mehnert via Wikipedia