{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://morrison.house.gov/media/press-releases/ob-gyn-and-us-rep-kelly-morrison-leads-colleagues-recognizing-american-college", "OB-GYN and U.S. Rep. Kelly Morrison Leads Colleagues in Recognizing American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists\u2019 75th Anniversary", "2026-05-14", "2026", "2026-05", "Democrat", "House", "MN", "Kelly Morrison", "M001234", "morrison.house.gov", "morrison", "https://morrison.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, DC \u2013 Today, U.S. Representative and OB-GYN for more than 20 years Kelly Morrison (MN-03) led the U.S. House of Representatives in commemorating the 75th anniversary of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG).\n\nOver the last 75 years, ACOG has been dedicated to advancing women\u2019s health: standardizing prenatal and cancer screenings, expanding reproductive healthcare, and serving as the standard bearer for information on contraception, cancer screening, STI screening and treatment, obstetric care, surgical advances, nutrition, abortion care, vaccines, menopause care, and everything in between.\n\nRep. Morrison led almost two dozen of her colleagues in a resolution that honors ACOG\u2019s decades of work and leadership in women\u2019s healthcare and commits to investing in women\u2019s health and strengthening obstetrical and gynecological care across the United States.\n\nThis anniversary comes as threats escalate to restrict access to mifepristone, a safe and effective medication that has been used not only in abortion care but to manage miscarriages for decades, when maternal death rates in the U.S. continue to rise, and when abortion bans across the country are creating a critical doctor shortage.\n\nRepresentative Morrison is the first and only pro-choice OB-GYN in Congress and spent more than 20 years caring for patients in Minnesota.\n\n\u201cACOG is grateful for Rep. Kelly Morrison\u2019s leadership in recognizing and honoring the 75th anniversary of our organization. For decades, ACOG has worked with members of Congress to advance policies that support the OB-GYN profession and importantly improve access to obstetric and gynecologic health care for all individuals in their communities. We thank Rep. Morrison for her work, both as an OB-GYN and a legislator, to expand access to care and her steadfast dedication to improving the health of the people she represents and women across the country,\u201d said Camille A. Clare, MD, MPH, CPE, FACOG, president of the American College of Obstetricians & Gynecologists.\n\nRead Rep. Morrison\u2019s full resolution recognizing ACOG here.\n\nImage\n\nWatch a video of Representative Morrison\u2019s remarks on the House floor HERE and below.\n\nRead a transcript of Representative Morrison\u2019s remarks below:\n\nThis past Sunday millions celebrated the work, love, and support mothers give to their children and families across the country.\n\nThere are so many ways, seen and unseen, that mothers show up for their families and care for their communities.\n\nI know that I am incredibly grateful to my beloved mother and for the privilege of getting to be the mother to my three wonderful children.\n\nAppropriately, Mother\u2019s Day also marked the beginning of National Women\u2019s Health week.\n\nThis provides the opportunity to highlight women\u2019s health, reflect on the progress we\u2019ve made, the ongoing research we need and to commit to continued advancement of access, quality, and affordability in women\u2019s health care.\n\nAdvancing women\u2019s health and delivering the best possible care requires a strong collaboration between the many care givers and entities that have built and continue the work of advancing women\u2019s health care.\n\nOne organization that has been an indispensable partner to all obstetrician gynecologists in their quest to provide the best evidence-based care to their patients over the past 75 years is the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.\n\nOver its 75-year legacy, ACOG has never wavered from its foundational mission of advancing the quality and consistency of care for women through guidance, education, and professional collaboration.\n\nIn the early years of its existence, ACOG set out to create evidence-based standards and develop opportunities for clinicians to continue their education.\n\nGrowing scientific progress and an expanding focus on women\u2019s health opened doors for the organization to serve as a leading voice as the nation experienced historic advances like the FDA\u2019s approval of the birth control pill and the Griswold v. Connecticut decision that established the right to privacy and therefore the right to use contraception, which had been illegal in Connecticut and many other states prior to this decision in 1965.\n\nAs these events established the policy landscape for women\u2019s health, ACOG continued its work standardizing prenatal and cancer screenings, introducing its own academic journal, and establishing the requirements to achieve high honors in the field of obstetrics and gynecology.\n\nThe landmark Roe v. Wade decision, as well as the establishment of the Title X program, which was the first federal grant program in the United States dedicated to providing family planning and other preventative health services to low-income families, both elevated women\u2019s health further and supported ACOG\u2019s efforts to expand access to reproductive health care to all Americans regardless of their ability to pay. They also amplified the importance of understanding the causes of maternal mortality and working to decrease it.\n\nDuring this time ACOG was at the forefront of building reliable, trusted programs that helped standardize evidence-based medicine, integrate cultural competency, and strengthen policy partnerships.\n\nACOG\u2019s role in women\u2019s health was also extended to helping protect the patient-physician relationship.\n\nFrom the critical influence in the Doe v. Bolton decision, which was the companion case to Roe v. Wade in which the Supreme Court struck down burdensome procedural requirements that effectively made abortion completely inaccessible in Georgia, even if the patient's life or health were threatened, to the mobilization needed in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision in 2022 which overturned Roe.\n\nACOG serves as a trusted source for evidence-based guidance for care across the lifespan for patients and providers alike.\n\nBoth turn to ACOG for information about critical topics ranging from contraception, cancer screening, STI screening and treatment, obstetric care, best surgical practices and advances, nutrition, abortion care, vaccines, menopause care, and everything in between.\n\nIn its continued pursuit of advancing women\u2019s health care, ACOG has championed work to understand and address the systemic issues vulnerable women and populations face.\n\nThrough pioneering initiatives like the Committee on Health Care for Underserved Women and the recognition that health is deeply impacted by factors beyond biology and clinical care, ACOG was an early leader in establishing opportunities for communities\u00b4 lived experiences to be heard and incorporated into our understanding of disparities and how to address them.\n\nAs ACOG expanded its focus on reviewing and understanding the impact of systemic inequities and disproportionate burdens of maternal mortality in minority communities, ACOG continued its work of building robust and responsive clinical guidance and programming that centers respectful care and quality improvements.\n\nDuring times of transformational advancements like the development and approval of the HPV vaccine, the Affordable Care Act, and historic investments in maternal death prevention efforts, ACOG has led and helped expand key collaborations and partnerships.\n\nThe last few years have brought unprecedented challenges and rapid change. During the COVID 19 pandemic and in the wake of the Dobbs decision, ACOG held strong to the foundational mission that has driven its work for decades, strengthening equitable, accessible obstetric and gynecologic care.\n\nACOG\u2019s presence and leadership during these pivotal moments for women\u2019s health and the profession they\u2019ve represented over the last 75 years has helped translate the lifesaving scientific advances and give evidence-based guidance and stability to a profession that has, is, and will continue to be monumentally consequential to families across the country and in every Congressional district.\n\nReflecting on the incredible progress of the last 75 years also brings to the forefront the importance of the work still left to build and expand.\n\nDespite the incredible advances in women\u2019s health, challenges and obstacles to fully achieving the mission of equitable, accessible care remain.\n\nAn estimated 36% of counties in the United States are maternity care deserts, meaning they do not have a hospital or birth center offering obstetric care or any obstetric providers.\n\nTwo-thirds of these maternity care deserts are in rural areas that are also the most vulnerable to disruptions in services and hospital closures.\n\nApproximately 1.2 million women live in counties with only one OB-GYN.\n\nBy 2035, the estimates are that 44 U.S. states are projected to not have enough OB-GYNs to meet those states' needs, with the most severe shortages in rural areas.\n\nWomen in many communities are already traveling long distances to access prenatal care or to deliver safely in a hospital.\n\nIn the wealthiest country in the world, in a country built on the principles of human dignity and freedom, these alarming statistics can and should lead to a unified bipartisan effort to address them.\n\nWe\u2019ve seen how the work and legacy of ACOG and its members have helped support historic achievements while upholding the core goals of access and quality of care.\n\nFacing and overcoming persistent challenges demands a commitment to science and evidence-based practices for:\n\nSetting the standards for OB-GYN care,\n\nFor advocating for policies that advance the field, and\n\nEmpowering physicians to provide patients with the care they need.\n\nAll while building on each of those areas to inform continuing education opportunities, refine clinical guidelines, and continue the evolution of the field of obstetrics and gynecology.\n\nBeyond navigating increasing administrative burdens, burnout and workforce instability, OB-GYNs are having to deal with health and medical misinformation jeopardizing their work and their patients\u2019 well-being.\n\nPatients are increasingly exposed to misinformation about contraception, fertility, pregnancy care, menopause, vaccines, and reproductive health.\n\nThis creates fear and confusion, undermines trust, delays treatment, and poses real risks to patients and families.\n\nThat is why trusted scientific leadership matters.\n\nACOG and generations of physician-researchers have helped translate rigorous science into evidence-based care that improves outcomes for women across the lifespan.\n\nThroughout my career in medicine and public service, I\u2019ve worked to support evidence-based approaches that deliver for families.\n\nFrom championing expanding Medicaid coverage to 12 months postpartum in Minnesota to advocating for the reauthorization of the Newborn Screening Saves Lives Act in Congress, I\u2019ve advocated for advancing early intervention and prevention to save lives.\n\nHealthy mothers, healthy babies, and healthy families strengthen communities, reduce long-term healthcare expenditures, and improve the long-term resilience of our nation.\n\nI had the privilege of caring for patients as an OBGYN for more than 20 years, so I\u2019ve seen firsthand the challenges patients face to afford and get the care they need.\n\nI\u2019ve seen the impacts of some of the medical breakthroughs and improvements to care that have occurred over the decades.\n\nAnd I've seen how social determinants of health make it so difficult for many Americans to have good health.\n\nAs an OBGYN, I\u2019ve seen my patients directly benefit from practices that were built on decades of research, clinical trials, and the dedicated work of multiple generations of my fellow OB-GYNs.\n\nThese advances were the result of hard-fought advocacy and awareness campaigns, committed work from researchers and physicians, and patient voices being centered and truly heard.\n\nOne of the great privileges of my years in practice was caring for my patients across different stages of their life.\n\nOB-GYNs see patients from adolescence through adulthood to end of life.\n\nI have cared for patients that I delivered through their own pregnancies and I have cared for many through early adulthood, to mid-life, through perimenopause and menopause and beyond.\n\nACOG has been there every step of the way to provide evidence-based recommendations to help guide my and my patients' decisionmaking.\n\nIn the decades I\u2019ve spent in this remarkable profession, it\u2019s been my sincere honor and privilege to provide the care my patients needed,\n\nFrom prenatal care through labor and delivery, to contraception to hormone replacement therapy, from the exam room to the operating room,\n\nHelping patients through important life stage transitions, creating care plans through shared decision making with my patients, always working to meet patients where they are to meet their unique needs.\n\nACOG has been a critical partner throughout my career and the careers of many thousands of OB-GYNs across the country.\n\nIn a rapidly changing world that is marked by advances in technology and access to an avalanche of information, not all of which is accurate, it is difficult for many of us to fully understand how drastically circumstances have changed for women and how transformational historic moments were to women\u2019s health and safety.\n\nYounger generations of Americans and even some older Americans may not be able to recall a United States without protected access to birth control or an HPV vaccine.\n\nMy career as an obstetrician-gynecologist began at a time when foundational concepts in public health and clinical practice were better defined and elements critical to progress like the right to privacy and the ability of women to make their own independent health care decisions were protected.\n\nIn the last decade, as women\u2019s health, rights, and protections have been threatened and eroded, I\u2019m thinking of my patients and of people across our country.\n\nI'm remembering my patients who disclosed, in some cases for the first time in their life, their traumatic experiences prior to the protections of Roe v. Wade.\n\nI'm thinking of my younger patients who worried about the possibility of losing protected access to abortion care as the Supreme Court ruled on the Dobbs case.\n\nAnd I'm thinking about the babies I delivered, protected by vaccines from preventable, life-threatening conditions and the mothers spared from complications because of comprehensive, evidence-based clinical guidelines and access to comprehensive care.\n\nAnd I\u2019d be remiss if I didn\u2019t take the opportunity to remind everyone in this moment when access to mifepristone is threatened: the research on mifepristone has not changed.\n\nIt has been an FDA-approved medicine for a quarter of a century.\n\nIt has been used safely and effectively by millions of women around the globe.\n\nFor my entire 20 year-plus career as an OBGYN, mifepristone has been used to help women manage miscarriages and safely end pregnancies.\n\nIts safety record surpasses most over-the-counter medicines!\n\nWhat has changed is the people in power.\n\nPeople with no medical training who want to undermine access to health care, control women\u2019s bodies, and ignore evidence-based science because of their own personal ideology.\n\nPutting their desire to control and restrict women, women whose lives they know nothing about and who they will never meet, over facts and research and safety.\n\nIt sets a very dangerous precedent for us all.\n\nAs we celebrate the milestones of the last 75 years of ACOG, we also have a responsibility to face future challenges head on, mindful of all that we have gained and conscious of is being lost, unwaveringly committed to improving the lives of all people seeking care, their families, and their communities.\n\nSo I offer a heartfelt thank you to ACOG, for 75 years of always standing with patients and physicians, and for its ongoing work to improve health care and the health of our patients. Onward to the next 75.\n\nMr. Speaker, I yield back.\n\n###", 1, "2026-06-27T21:44:12Z", "2026-06-27T22:21:02Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://morrison.house.gov/media/press-releases/ob-gyn-and-us-rep-kelly-morrison-leads-colleagues-recognizing-american-college"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.8502681739628315, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}