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GLMA Welcomes New Executive Director: Alex Sheldon

Amidst the ever-changing landscape of our world, GLMA's unwavering commitment to advancing LGBTQ+ equality remains steadfast. Our GLMA family, including our members, staff, and board of directors, has continually supported GLMA's work in various ways, as we navigate new challenges in promoting LGBTQ+ health and supporting LGBTQ+ health professionals. As a small but mighty organization, it is with great excitement that I, on behalf of the board of directors, introduce GLMA's new permanent executive director, Alex Sheldon!

Welcome to GLMA's Policies and Position Statements!

GLMA is committed to ensuring health equity for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) persons and equality for LGBTQ+ health professionals in their work and learning environments. GLMA recognizes that many LGBTQ+ people experience an intersection of discrimination based on sexual orientation, indigenous heritage, citizenship status, veteran status, race, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, housing status, ability, age, body size, and class (in addition to other identities). GLMA is committed to dismantling biases from these other structural contributors to assure health equity and professional equality. Our policies and position statements focus on issues important to all LGBTQ+ communities, understanding that their application requires embedding them in a greater context of structural discriminatory issues.

GLMA's Policies and Position Statements are developed through the Policy and Government Affairs Committee. If you are interested in proposing a topic for the Committee to consider, please contact policycommittee@glma.org.

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142-24-101. Condemnation of Efforts to Restrict Reproductive Freedom
07/12/2024

GLMA: Health Professionals Advancing LGBTQ+ Equality believes that recent efforts to restrict or ban in vitro fertilization (IVF), birth control, and abortion-related healthcare services are part of a reprehensible continuum of efforts to restrict or eliminate bodily autonomy, which must be denounced and condemned. GLMA calls on federal, state, and local government entities to expand reproductive healthcare access to all persons regardless of sexual orientation, indigenous heritage, citizenship status, veteran status, race, gender, gender identity, ethnicity, housing status, ability, age, body size, and class (in addition to other marginalized identities) and recognizes those holding minoritized identities, in particular, struggle with inequitable access to reproductive healthcare options (see GLMA policy 122-02-102-23 Support for Full Reproductive Services). This call for expanded access to reproductive healthcare access is inclusive of reproductive technologies such as IVF, which many LGBTQ+ people depend on for family building. GLMA affirms that fertilized eggs or embryos are biologically distinct from children1-3 and should not be considered morally, ethically, or biologically equivalent. Further, in alignment with other health professional and legal organizations, GLMA denounces and  condemns federal, state, and local legislative, executive, and judicial restrictions on access to reproductive health services such as abortion, birth control, and IVF4-11 among others. 

References

 

  1. Paulson, R. J. (2017). The unscientific nature of the concept that “human life begins at fertilization,” and why it matters. Fertility and Sterility, 107(3), 566-567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fertnstert.2017.01.002
  2. Letterie G, Fox D (2023). Legal personhood and frozen embryos: implications for fertility patients and providers in post-Roe America. Journal of Law and the Biosciences. 10(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.1093/jlb/lsad006
  3. Vrtacnik, U. (2023) (Legal) Status of embryo in biomedically assisted procreation. IntechOpen. https://doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.1002201 
  4. Amato, P. (2024). ASRM condemns profoundly misguided and dangerous court decision in Alabama. American Society for Reproductive Medicine. https://www.asrm.org/news-and-events/asrm-news/press-releasesbulletins/asrm-condemns-dangerous-court-decision-alabama/
  5. American Medical Association. (2022). Infertility benefits for veterans H-510.984. https://policysearch.ama-assn.org/policyfinder/detail/IVF?uri=%2FAMADoc%2FHOD-510.984.xml
  6. Hicks, V. J. (2024). ACOG statement on Alabama supreme court IVF decision. American College of Gynecologists. https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2024/02/acog-statement-on-alabama-supreme-court-ivf-decision#:~:text=“This%20dangerous%20decision%20sets%20an,most%20restrictive%20and%20harmful%20laws
  7. American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (2022). ACOG resolutions to protect and to improve reproductive health passed by AMA House of Delegates. ??https://www.acog.org/news/news-releases/2022/06/acog-resolutions-to-protect-improve-reproductive-health-passed-by-ama-house-of-delegates 
  8. American Nursing Assocation (2022). Reproductive health. https://www.nursingworld.org/practice-policy/nursing-excellence/official-position-statements/id/reproductive-health/
  9. American Academy of Physician Associates (2022). AAPA statement on Supreme Court decision on Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. https://www.aapa.org/news-central/2022/06/aapa-statement-on-supreme-court-decision/
  10. American Bar Association (2019). Model act governing assisted reproductive technology. https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/family_law/committees/art/resolution-111.pdf
  11. American Bar Association (2019). Laws and regulations impeding reproductive healthcare https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/directories/policy/annual-2019/115f-annual-2019.pdf