ACOG Warns about Effect of Oklahoma Executive Order 2025-16

The following is a statement from Steven J. Fleischman, MD, MBA, FACOG, president of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists:

"Doctors across the state of Oklahoma have been put in a precarious position as their privacy and their ability to provide patients with medical care is threatened by an executive order from Governor Stitt. As a result of Executive Order 2025-16, all doctors who provide care to patients through SoonerCare must sign an attestation regarding any provision of care or patient counseling related to abortion.

"Abortion is already illegal in the vast majority of cases in Oklahoma, which has one of the strictest abortion laws in the country. Forcing doctors to sign an attestation that they have not broken the law or discussed medical care with patients is unnecessary, burdensome, and offensive and it impinges upon their First Amendment rights. The legal abortion care and important abortion referrals that doctors provide should be afforded the same protection as any other facet of medical care and should not be the subject of a government-imposed legal document. This executive order adds insult to injury by subjecting Oklahoma doctors, who are already practicing under government intrusion into the patient-physician relationship, to further invasion of their privacy, forcing them to practice under ever greater levels of threat and scrutiny.

"Doctors who prioritize the right to privacy and free speech and opt not to sign the form will be removed from the SoonerCare system. Oklahomans covered by the program-one-quarter of the state's residents-will have a harder time getting access to needed medical care if physicians lose the ability to serve patients who use SoonerCare. Given that the majority of births in Oklahoma are covered by Medicaid, this in effect limits the ability of ob-gyns to practice in most health care settings. In a state with growing health care deserts and an unacceptable maternal mortality rate, making it harder for people to see a doctor makes no sense and puts lives at risk. Predictably, the harm will be greatest among patients who already face disproportionate difficulty accessing care, worsening patients' health outcomes. With even fewer doctors in the SoonerCare system, this situation will become dire.

"We are also concerned that those who attest to having provided legal abortion care and counseling will also face the consequence of being removed from SoonerCare-an uncalled-for punishment for providing care within the confines of the law, and one that will also hurt SoonerCare patients.

"Doctors work every day to provide their patients with compassionate, quality care. Imposing threats, limiting First Amendment-protected activity, and infringing upon their privacy will benefit no one; it will only cause lasting harm to the critical SoonerCare system and the million-plus Oklahomans who depend on it."