Highlighting Women's Health

Floor Speech

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Mr. CONAWAY. Mr. Speaker, I thank my friend and colleague (Ms. Morrison) for coordinating this Special Order hour.

Mr. Speaker, I rise today to recognize the 75th anniversary of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, better known as ACOG.

For three-quarters of a century, ACOG has been at the forefront of improving the health and well-being of women, mothers, and families across the United States.

Since its founding in 1951, ACOG has helped to shape the standard of care in obstetrics and gynecology, advancing research, physician education, and evidence-based medicine.

Every day, OB/GYNs across our country provide compassionate care through every stage of life--from birth to infancy, then to adolescence and adulthood, from pregnancy to menopause, and beyond.

As a physician myself, I know firsthand the critical role that trusted medical professionals play in keeping our communities healthy and informed. That role is certainly critical today as we see from this administration so many attacks, I would say, on the ability of families to have the information and to gain the information that they need to protect their health, the health of their families and communities at large.

We have moved away from science as the foundation for decisionmaking in healthcare, and that terrible trend, that tragic trend needs to end.

ACOG has consistently worked to ensure that physicians have the tools, training, and guidance necessary to deliver the highest quality care to patients. Their work has helped to reduce maternal and infant mortality, improve prenatal care, expand access to preventive screenings, and advance women's health outcomes nationwide.

At a time when maternal health disparities continue to impact far too many families, particularly Black mothers and their children and others who live in underserved communities, organizations like ACOG remain essential partners in the effort to build a healthier and more equitable future.

Now, I mentioned I am a practicing physician. I have had to call on members of ACOG to help me provide help to women. Certainly, as a legislator at the State level for 26 years, I worked closely with ACOG on everything from medical malpractice reform to obviously dealing with the tragedy of the disparities in Black infant mortality and for Black mothers who are pregnant and delivering children.

Their work to provide standards of care, to guide decisionmakers, not only in the healthcare arena, but in the legislative arena, to improve outcomes for all people, and particularly those who suffer from disparities in our healthcare system, we owe to ACOG a tremendous debt of gratitude.

Mr. Speaker, we owe a gratitude to the doctors, the nurses, the researchers, the educators, and advocates who have dedicated themselves to this mission for the past 75 years. I will stand and commend ACOG for its decades of leadership, service, and advocacy on behalf of patients and physicians alike.

Congratulations to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists on this important milestone, and I wish the organization continued success in the years ahead.

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