Dear AMIA Community,
The Supreme Court decision last Friday has stimulated a lot of thoughtful and passionate discussion in the AMIA communities. Many may be feeling overwhelmed, and many will need time to process and reflect. The decision to overturn the nearly fifty-year-old Roe v. Wade decision reminds us of the unique nature of our democracy, legal system, and the importance of active citizen engagement. This decision is a significant shift, which will affect many individuals, families, and lives. While there is a strong sentiment among AMIA members that abortion rights involve human rights, there is not consensus among AMIA members which rights (e.g., maternal, paternal, or fetal) take precedence in the many challenging situations that might arise.
Many of us have been pioneers in one or more fields historically occupied by men and struggle with the rights of women being under attack. Many clinicians provide care in the specialty areas of women’s health, fetal medicine, and neonatology, where science has evolved rapidly over the last decades. Many have strong ethical and/or religious principles that govern our actions, and many have faced their own difficult decisions where principles conflict. There are no easy answers; pretending there is clear consensus is a disservice to our diverse membership.
As a scientific organization, we must be committed to creating an environment where this important dialogue can continue and where individuals feel empowered to make decisions that are consistent with their values. As individuals, we have the responsibility to share our expertise to inform the conversation and to listen openly to those friends and colleagues, with whom we might not agree on this issue. As AMIA leaders, we have a responsibility to make decisions that are best for the health of our organization. As individuals and a group, we have the rights, privileges, and duty to engage in advocacy, to be heard in a court of law, and to vote. Only through engagement will our nation become stronger.
AMIA is committed to providing a safe and inclusive environment where our activities and the conversations can continue. The AMIA Ethics Committee has developed a position for venue selection, and we will ask them to provide guidance in applying the principles in the context of the recent rulings. The AMIA Board and other leaders will continue to revisit our decisions about meeting locations, virtual participation options, and other factors that may influence the ability to conduct our business. We acknowledge that this ruling has created a lot of uncertainty and fear and that this communication may not include the definitive and immediate action that is wanted. We are balancing the desire for timely communication with the need for thoughtful deliberation of next steps. We ask you to support one another and engage as we respond to these changes together.
Sincerely,
Gretchen Purcell Jackson, MD, PhD
Genevieve Melton-Meaux
Tanya Tolpegin
AMIA Leadership
- Julia Adler-Milstein
- Kenrick Cato
- Arlene Chung
- James Cimino
- Patricia Dykes
- Susan C. Hull
- Laura Heermann Langford
- Scott McGrath
- Deepti Pandita
- Philip Payne
- Rachel Richesson
- Neil Sarkar
- Li Zhou