ACNM rejects the dismantling of protections and access to healthcare for people who are marginalized. The attack on the rights of women, transgender individuals, and Black and Brown people by the current administration is unconstitutional and will cause irreparable harm. Here are samples of a few ACNM positions:
The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) supports efforts to provide transgender and gender non-binary (TGNB) people with access to safe, comprehensive, culturally responsive, and respectful health care. Midwives should seek to provide competent care based on current evidence to TGNB people. The most important approach to improving the health care experience for TGNB people is to provide compassionate, holistic, respectful care in a welcoming, accessible, and inclusive environment that affirms individual gender identities.
Health Care for Transgender and Gender Non-Binary People
Gender-based violence is an enormous public health problem that affects more than one-third of cisgender women in the United States and globally and up to 89% of transgender and gender-nonbinary people. ACNM supports a zero-tolerance policy for gender-based violence. CNMs/CMs should screen regularly for current and past experience of violence, including reproductive coercion, using best practices to create an environment in which people feel safe and supported.
The American College of Nurse-Midwives (ACNM) affirms that everyone has the right to make choices regarding sexual and reproductive health (SRH) that meet their individual needs. ACNM recognizes that barriers to accessing SRH services are related to race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and other factors. In a comprehensive approach to SRH, the concept of reproductive justice encompasses the intersectional effects of racism, sexual orientation, gender identity, age, and physical, mental, spiritual, political, social, and environmental factors on SRH.12 ACNM supports the position that all persons have a “right to have children, not have children, and parent the children we have in safe and healthy environments.”
Access to Comprehensive Sexual and Reproductive Health Care Services