FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Thursday, June 13, 2024
Contact:
Julie Hirschhorn
jhirschhorn@aafp.org
Statement attributable to:
Steven P. Furr, MD, FAAFP
President
American Academy of Family Physicians
Today’s decision in the case of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine (AHM) v. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) preserves the patient-physician relationship and upholds access to mifepristone, an FDA-approved medication.
Patients must be able to depend on their physicians to make critical decisions about their personal health. Physicians must also be able to practice medicine that is informed by their years of medical education, training, experience and available evidence. Regulatory experts must be allowed to ensure the safety and efficacy of drugs without government interference.
We thank the U.S. Supreme Court for recognizing that the health care community relies on agencies such as the FDA to ensure the safety and efficacy of treatments available to patients. Restricting access to certain treatments would set a dangerous precedent of allowing the rigorous drug evaluation process to be circumvented, affecting patients’ access to a medication or regimen.
The AAFP will continue to advocate for everyone’s right to health care and oppose any governmental interference in the confidential relationship between patient and physician.
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About American Academy of Family Physicians
Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents 130,000 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the largest medical society devoted solely to primary care. Family physicians conduct approximately one in five office visits — that’s 192 million visits annually or 48 percent more than the next most visited medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America’s underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. Family medicine’s cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. To learn more about the specialty of family medicine and the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care, visit www.aafp.org. For information about health care, health conditions and wellness, please visit the AAFP’s consumer website, www.familydoctor.org.