ACOOG at the AOA House of Delegates: Women's Health on the Agenda
acoog · advocacy
ACOOG at the AOA House of Delegates: Women's Health on the Agenda
This week's policy session took up breastfeeding, substance use in pregnancy, fertility care, cancer prevention, and the treatment of incarcerated pregnant patients.
The American College of Osteopathic Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOOG) was represented this week at the American Osteopathic Association (AOA) House of Delegates, the body that sets policy for the osteopathic profession. Women's health featured prominently. Delegates took up resolutions on breastfeeding, substance use in pregnancy, fertility care, cancer prevention, and the treatment of incarcerated pregnant patients.
The outcomes reflect priorities ACOOG members work on every day. Here is what passed, what held, and what fell short.
New and updated policies the House approved
Four resolutions advanced, each tied to daily obstetric and gynecologic practice.
Resolution 333 · Approved
Support of Breastfeeding
The AOA now backs hospitals and birth centers giving mothers and caregivers the information and skills to start and sustain breastfeeding. This aligns with the clinical guidance ACOOG members deliver at the bedside.
Resolution 343 · Approved
Urine Drug Screening During Pregnancy and Perinatal Care
This resolution draws a clear line between screening and testing. The AOA position:
- Supports universal screening for perinatal substance use with validated tools
- Opposes routine, non-consensual urine drug testing as a screening method in pregnancy
- Backs education, prevention, and evidence-based treatment for substance use in pregnancy
- Opposes mandatory reporting laws that let a urine drug test stand as the sole basis for suspected child abuse or neglect
The policy protects the therapeutic relationship while keeping the focus on treatment.
Resolution 346 · Approved
Increasing Financial Access to IVF Treatment
The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes infertility as a disease. It affects roughly one in six people during their reproductive years, and many need in vitro fertilization (IVF) to conceive. At least 21 states require some insurance coverage for infertility diagnosis or IVF, while many states offer none, which creates unequal access. The AOA now advocates for:
- Legislation requiring insurers to cover infertility diagnosis and medically necessary treatment, including IVF
- Coverage parity, so infertility care faces no harsher deductibles, annual exclusions, or lifetime limits than other care
- Additional pathways such as tax credits, state-funded grants, Medicaid coverage for medically indicated treatment, and employer incentives
For members who counsel patients through infertility, this gives the profession a clear advocacy position on access.
Resolution 436 · Approved
Education on Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccination
The AOA supports public education on HPV and its link to certain cancers and genital warts. It urges osteopathic physicians to educate themselves and their patients on the vaccine's availability and benefits, calls for adequate public and private insurance coverage, and backs continued research into whether other groups benefit. Cancer prevention through vaccination sits squarely within the OB/GYN scope.
Policies the House reviewed and reaffirmed
Two standing policies came up for sunset review and held.
Resolution 422 · Reaffirmed
Childhood and Teenage Sexual Exposure
The policy encourages osteopathic physicians to give minors, and their parents and caregivers, anticipatory guidance on the risks of sexual exposure and sexually transmitted infection. It supports curriculum development aimed at preventing unwanted pregnancy and disease transmission, and it backs public education toward the same goals.
Resolution 429 · Reaffirmed
Shackling of Pregnant Inmates
The AOA acknowledges the harm shackling causes to mother and fetus, including miscarriage and premature birth. It supports restricting any form of shackling on an inmate who is pregnant or in labor, with a narrow exception when the patient poses an immediate, serious threat to herself or others or a substantial flight risk. This is a patient safety position with direct relevance to obstetric care.
One resolution that did not pass
Resolution 448 · Declined
Sharing Centralized Resources on State-Specific Reproductive Health Policies
This resolution asked the AOA to make existing evidence-based tools available across the osteopathic community to improve physician access to accurate reproductive health information. It carried a financial component of $150,000 annually. Delegates offered an amendment to strike the funding, but the resolution was declined. The underlying need, giving physicians reliable state-specific reproductive health information, remains an open question the profession will likely revisit.
What this means for ACOOG members
The women's health resolutions that advanced this week track closely with the clinical and advocacy work ACOOG members already carry. Breastfeeding support, humane and effective approaches to substance use in pregnancy, equitable fertility coverage, HPV-driven cancer prevention, and the dignity of incarcerated pregnant patients are core to osteopathic obstetric and gynecologic practice. ACOOG's presence at the House of Delegates keeps the specialty's voice in the room where these policies take shape.
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