Advocacy Efforts for MFMs and Their Patients
SMFM's Health Policy and Advocacy Committee has been leading efforts to ensure pregnant individuals have access to MFMs and are included in COVID-related research efforts.
December 4, 2020: SMFM joined nearly 350 organizations in sending a letter to President-Elect Joe Biden outlining essential biomedical research priorities for the next four years.
December 1, 2020: SMFM submitted public comments urging the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices to include guidance on immunizing pregnant and lactating populations in its COVID-19 vaccine recommendations.
August 19, 2020: SMFM joins the Friends of AHRQ in endorsing legislation providing funding to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to support critical health services research during the COVID-19 pandemic.
July 10, 2020: SMFM joins a number of national public health organizations to write to Sec. Azar urged him to renew the current public health emergency declaration to increase the pace of COVID-19 research and assist states and localities as they respond to outbreaks.
July 1, 2020: SMFM joins 350 organizations in a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar urging him to affirm the critical role of CDC during the COVID-19 crisis and resist efforts that would undermine its mission.
May 7, 2020: SMFM joins March of Dimes and 30+ other national organizations to write to House and Senate leadership urging Congress to include $100 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) Surveillance for Emerging Threats to Moms and Babies initiative in the next COVID-19 response package.
April 22, 2020: SMFM writes to PhRMA, BIO, and AdvaMed urging that their member companies include underrepresented minorities and pregnant women in research related to COVID-19.
April 13, 2020: SMFM writes to Sec. Azar urged HHS to ensure the inclusion of underrepresented minorities and pregnant women in any clinical research related to the COVID-19 vaccine or treatment development.
April 7, 2020: SMFM joins a number of national and state organizations to write to House and Senate leadership urging them to include the Vaccine Awareness Campaign to Champion Immunization Nationally and Enhance Safety (VACCINES) Act of 2019 (H.R. 2862) in the next legislative vehicle to respond to the coronavirus crisis.
April 6, 2020: SMFM and ACOG issued a joint statement regarding the CDC's recent removal of pregnant people from their webpage that outlines “people who are at higher risk for severe illness” from COVID-19."
March 18, 2020: Together with the Coalition to Advance Maternal Therapeutics, SMFM writes to the NIH and FDA to call for the inclusion of pregnant and lactating women in clinical trials related to COVID-19.
February 25, 2021: SMFM sent a letter to the CDC’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practice (ACIP) supporting pregnant and lactating people's access to the Janssen vaccine.
February 24, 2021: SMFM wrote a letter to the FDA’s Vaccines and Related Biological Products Advisory Committee (VRBPAC), encouraging them to include pregnant and lactating people in the emergency use authorization for the Janssen vaccine.
January 27, 2021: ACOG and SMFM Issue Statement on WHO Recommendations Regarding COVID-19 Vaccines and Pregnant Individuals
January 13, 2021: Leaders in Women’s Health Encourage Health Workers to Receive the COVID-19 Vaccine
December 9, 2020: SMFM submitted comments to FDA’s vaccine advisory committee urging them to permit the use of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine by pregnant or lactating individuals in consultation with their healthcare providers.
September 4, 2020: SMFM submitted comments to the National Academy of Medicine on the importance of addressing health inequities, prioritizing all high-risk health care workers, and including pregnant people in its Framework for Equitable Allocation of COVID-19 vaccine.
September 3, 2020: SMFM joined more than 230 partners in a letter to Vice President Pence expressing our concerns with changes to COVID-19 testing guidelines that diminish the importance of testing asymptomatic individuals who are exposed to COVID-19.
July 23, 2020: SMFM leads more than 40 national organizations to urge House and Senate leadership to extend Medicaid coverage for one year postpartum in the next COVID-19 response legislation.
July 20, 2020: SMFM members in Nevada Write to the Governor to Oppose Across-the-Board Cuts to Medicaid
July 15, 2020: SMFM joined nearly 90 organizations in writing to House leadership in support of the Improving Social Determinants of Health Act of 2020 (H.R. 6561).
June 29, 2020: SMFM joined 125+ organizations in a letter to House and Senate leadership urging them to prioritize COVID-19 testing in underserved communities.
June 9, 2020: SMFM joins the Equitable Maternal Health Coalition in writing to House and Senate leadership expressing concerns about the disparate impact of COVID-19 on Black and American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) communities and the potential exacerbation of the maternal mortality crisis.
June 1, 2020: SMFM joins 40+ other national organizations to write to House and Senate leadership urging Congress to provide funding in the next COVID-19 response package to prepare for the allocation, distribution and administration of a new COVID-19 vaccine.
May 15, 2020: SMFM writes to House and Senate Leadership urging them to prioritize maternal health, the public health infrastructure, and the health care workforce in the next COVID-19 emergency response package.
May 1, 2020: SMFM joined the Maternal Mental Health Leadership Alliance to write to Representatives Lowey, DeLauro, Cole, and Granger to to request additional funding for HRSA’s Screening and Treatment for Maternal Depression and Related Behavior Disorders Treatment Program in the next CARES Act supplemental.
April 10, 2020: SMFM joined other national Ob/Gyn organizations to write to the Small Business Administration asking that physician practices have access to the small business resources created by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Public Law (P.L.) 116-136.
April 3, 2020: SMFM joined 200 national healthcare organizations to write to the White House, FEMA, and HHS, asking that the administration take immediate action to alleviate the critical shortage of ventilators and PPE across the nation.
April 1, 2020: SMFM joined SGO and other Ob/Gyn organizations to write to Secs. Azar and Esper, as well as FEMA Administrator Gaynor urging them to work quickly to implement the funding provided in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act for PPE for physicians, nurses and all health care and hospital personnel that are working to care for those who have been diagnosed with COVID-19.
March 31, 2020: SMFM and ACOG writes a letter to the CDC as a follow-up to a phone conversation regarding PPE for obstetric care personnel in the labor and delivery unit. On the call, SMFM and ACOG expressed concern that CDC guidance is being interpreted to suggest that OB care clinicians need not wear N95 masks and face shields when attending to patients with confirmed or suspected COVID-19 during the second stage of labor. The CDC clarified its recommendation for the use of such PPE.
March 30, 2020: SMFM, ACOG, AAFP and ACNM issue a statement on the safety of birth in hospitals and birth centers.
March 30, 2020: SMFM issues a public statement acknowledging the CDC and its willingness to discuss the need for adequate PPE in labor and delivery.
March 25, 2020: SMFM issues a public statement on PPE, including N-95 masks in labor and delivery.
March 25, 2020: SMFM and ACOG write to the Department of Labor asking that when they issue guidance specific to addressing COVID-19, they include medical professionals who are engaged in essential direct patient care as “health care providers.”
March 16, 2020: SMFM joins ACOG, ASRM, and other national organizations to provide recommendations for obstetrician-gynecologists regarding the American College of Surgeons’ statement on elective surgery and the U.S. Surgeon General’s recommendation that hospitals suspend elective surgeries during the COVID-19 pandemic.
March 14, 2020: SMFM calls on payers to work with OB care providers to enable social spacing and minimize the risk of exposure to COVID-19 for high-risk women.
May 7, 2021: SMFM wrote to the FDA to thank them for lifting the in-person dispensing requirements for Mifepristone during the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 12, 2021: In a letter to SMFM and ACOG, the FDA lifted the in-person dispending requirements for Mifepristone for the remainder of the COVID-19 public health emergency.
March 1, 2021: SMFM signed a letter to President Biden and Vice President Harris urging that they lift the in-person dispensing requirement for mifepristone during the COVID-19 pandemic.
April 20, 2020: SMFM and ACOG wrote to the FDA urging them to expand its recent policy to apply to the REMS and Elements to Assure Safe Use requirements for certain drugs requiring in-person dispensation, especially mifepristone.
April 14, 2020: SMFM signed on to an Amicus Brief for the 10th circuit on Oklahoma’s recent abortion ban.
March 25, 2020: SMFM joins major medical and scientific organizations, universities, and others to write to President Trump, asking that he lift the restrictions on federally funded research using human fetal tissue.
March 18, 2020: SMFM joins ACOG, the Society for Family Planning, and other national organizations to issue a statement discouraging hospitals from classifying pregnancy termination as an elective procedure in their COVID-19 planning.