Abortion Policy

Explore frequently asked questions about ACOG's updated Policy on Abortion

All people should have access to the full spectrum of comprehensive, evidence-based health care. Abortion is an essential component of comprehensive, evidence-based health care. As the leading medical organization dedicated to the health of individuals in need of gynecologic and obstetric care, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) supports the availability of high-quality reproductive health services for all people and is committed to protecting and increasing access to abortion.

ACOG strongly opposes any effort that impedes access to abortion care and interferes in the relationship between a person and their healthcare professional. Because the patient-clinician relationship is a critical component of the provision of the highest quality healthcare, any efforts interfering in this relationship harm the people seeking essential healthcare and those providing it. As such, clinicians should not be subject to criminal penalties, lawsuits, fines or other punishments for providing the full spectrum of evidence-based care. ACOG condemns stigma, violence, intimidation and threats against doctors, clinicians, and members of their professional teams and families.

ACOG supports every person's right to decide whether to have children, the number and spacing of children, and to have the information, education, and access to health services to make these decisions. Individuals seeking abortion must be afforded privacy, dignity, respect, and support, and should be able to make their medical decisions without undue interference by outside parties. ACOG advocates to improve access to full-spectrum reproductive services, to integrate abortion as a component of mainstream medical care, and to oppose and overturn efforts restricting access to abortion.

Approval by the Board of Directors
General policy: January 1993
Reaffirmed and revised: July 1997
Intact D & X statement: January 1997
Combined and reaffirmed: September 2000
Reaffirmed: July 2004
Reaffirmed: July 2007
Reaffirmed: July 2011
Revised and approved: November 2014
Reaffirmed: July 2017
Reaffirmed: November 2020
Revised and Approved: May 2022

Explore frequently asked questions about ACOG's updated Policy on Abortion