GLMA President Jesse Joad, MD, MS, and Executive Director Hector Vargas, JD, issued the following statement praising the AMA for adopting several policies on LGBT health during its 2017 Annual Meeting:
“GLMA applauds the AMA for taking action at its Annual Meeting to support LGBT health, in particular adopting a policy statement designed to ensure transgender individuals have access to basic human services, including use of the appropriate restroom facilities. GLMA was proud to present this policy proposal to the AMA House of Delegates and support others introduced for consideration. Taken as a whole, the policies the AMA adopted are extremely beneficial to LGBT individuals and the care they receive. GLMA praises the Delegates to the AMA House of Delegates for making these vital steps forward to advance LGBT health equity.”
During the AMA meeting, GLMA introduced a resolution aimed at opposing policies preventing transgender individuals from accessing basic human services and public facilities in line with one’s gender identity, and advocating for the creation of policies promoting social equality and safe access to these services and facilities.
GLMA also co-sponsored a resolution to establish gender neutral patient categorization in risk evaluation and mitigation programs (REMs) with the FDA, taking into consideration reproductive potential when evaluating risk of fetal exposure to teratogenic drugs, as opposed to sex or gender.
Both the resolution on accessing basic human services and the FDA resolution were adopted with no voiced opposition.
Other LGBT-related resolutions the AMA adopted and supported by GLMA include:
“GLMA applauds the AMA for taking action at its Annual Meeting to support LGBT health, in particular adopting a policy statement designed to ensure transgender individuals have access to basic human services, including use of the appropriate restroom facilities. GLMA was proud to present this policy proposal to the AMA House of Delegates and support others introduced for consideration. Taken as a whole, the policies the AMA adopted are extremely beneficial to LGBT individuals and the care they receive. GLMA praises the Delegates to the AMA House of Delegates for making these vital steps forward to advance LGBT health equity.”
During the AMA meeting, GLMA introduced a resolution aimed at opposing policies preventing transgender individuals from accessing basic human services and public facilities in line with one’s gender identity, and advocating for the creation of policies promoting social equality and safe access to these services and facilities.
GLMA also co-sponsored a resolution to establish gender neutral patient categorization in risk evaluation and mitigation programs (REMs) with the FDA, taking into consideration reproductive potential when evaluating risk of fetal exposure to teratogenic drugs, as opposed to sex or gender.
Both the resolution on accessing basic human services and the FDA resolution were adopted with no voiced opposition.
Other LGBT-related resolutions the AMA adopted and supported by GLMA include:
- Working with medical and community-based organizations to inform and educate the medical community and the public on the medical spectrum of gender;
- Agreeing to study issues related to treatment of transgender prisoners, including the need for policy to allow transgender prisoners to be placed in facilities reflective of their affirmed gender identity;
- Supporting the education of physicians and the public regarding effective use of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV, and the removal of insurance barriers to accessing PrEP, including prior authorization and specialist consultations;
- Reaffirming current policy on the proper usage of LGBT identifiers in medical documentation, including biological sex, gender identity, preferred gender pronouns, and sexual orientation;
- Agreeing to the voluntary collection of sexual orientation and gender identity data among AMA membership; and
- Amending current anti-discrimination policy to ensure that future AMA meetings and conferences be held in jurisdictions that do not have discriminatory practices based on sex, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, and gender expression, among other categories.
GLMA is the only LGBT organization with a seat in the AMA House of Delegates, the policy-making body of the AMA. GLMA is represented in the HOD by Delegate Jeremy Toler, MD, and Alternate Delegate Desiray Bailey, MD, both of whom also serve on GLMA’s Board of Directors.
