A.D. Q&A with AMA CEO Jim Madara on how overturning Roe v. Wade could criminalize healthcare

When the U.S. Supreme Court draft opinion leaked suggesting Roe v Wade would be overturned this summer, immediate reaction came from the political sphere. What did President Biden say? Gubernatorial candidates? Pro- and anti-abortion groups? And what did this mean for Illinois as a so-called abortion access oasis? But reaction from the medical community trickled in slower. This episode presents a conversation A.D. Quig had with the CEO of the American Medical Association, Dr. James Madara, last Thursday. It was supposed to be a sit-down in front of AMA staff marking the organization’s 175th anniversary, but it came shortly after the draft opinion leaked. Dr. Madara was surprised about the leak and its contents, which would have major consequences for practicing doctors and patients alike. In a statement last week, the AMA said the ruling, as drafted, amounted to government interference in the patient-physician relationship, a dangerous intrusion into the practice of medicine, and the potential criminalization of care. There are Roe implications beyond abortion in the draft, Madara warned, including simple conversations between doctors and patients about whether there are handguns in the home. Madara discussed what the AMA plans to do if the decision does go through this summer. He also addressed the drop in trust in physicians following the covid pandemic; physician burnout and a looming doctor shortage; progress the AMA is making in its racial equity pledge; and whether the country has made as much progress as he thought it would following passage of the Affordable Care Act.