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ABOG requires OBGYNs to attend in-person certification exams in Dallas, Texas [1]

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Date: 2023-08-29

In response to the requirement to take their board certification exams in Texas, many OBGYNs have expressed fears for their personal safety as well as concerns about legal prosecution.

Around a thousand of physicians will travel to Dallas to take this two day oral and written exam, which is administered by the American Board of Obstetrics and Gynecology (ABOG). This non-profit 501c3 organization is the sole source of initial and ongoing credentialing for OBGYNs in the US. Board certification is highly desirable, as it may be a prerequisite for both employment and obtaining malpractice insurance.

A number of petitions to this effect have circulated on change.org. Excerpts from two active petitions are included below:

ABOG Petition: Convert to Online Examination to Protect OBGYN Providers The ACGME requires Ob/Gyn trainees to have experience with abortion and its complications. As such, many board-eligible Ob/Gyns have abortions on our case lists, particularly those that center family planning in their practice. Due to the “aid and abet'' clause included in SB8, we may be targeted for legal or political retribution. (https://www.change.org/p/abog-petition)

ABOG Oral Boards should NOT be in Texas, a Hostile State Although ABOG has held oral boards virtually for several years, this year they intend to force Ob-Gyns to travel to Texas to sit for boards. Travel to Texas sends a message that as an organization we are complicit with the series of attacks on women's rights, that we do not mind spending money to support Texas' tourism and infrastructure. [...] Travel to Texas directly jeopardizes the health and well-being of our pregnant colleagues. Should any pregnancy-related complications occur while in Texas, the full range of evidence-based management options are prohibited by law. This is an unconscionable risk. (https://www.change.org/p/abog-oral-boards-should-not-be-in-texas-a-hostile-state)

In 2022, due to safety concerns post-Dobbs, ABOG did offer exams remotely. In contrast, this year, ABOG has responded to the pushback caused by their in-person exam requirement with a FAQ. A few questions are included below.

ABOG FAQ for Concerned Candidates

FAQ: “What security measures are in place for candidates and examiners?”

ABOG Response: ABOG states that their staff are trained in responding to active shooters. Furthermore, ABOG signage will be carefully hidden from the general public.

Diary: ABOG is taking action to conceal test takers from bounty hunters and armed vigilantes who already know the suspected abortion doctors will be collected in one location.

FAQ: “Do candidates for certification need to obtain legal guidance before traveling to Texas?”

ABOG Response: Doctors are assured that there is no need to seek legal counsel before taking the exams.

Diary: Given that SB8 put a bounty on the head of anyone who aids or abets abortion, it would be understandable if examiners and test-takers alike felt reservations about truthfully reviewing their past cases involving that procedure.

Why Texas?

In response to the more fundamental question of why the heck ABOG continues to make its home in Dallas, their website offers these defenses:

1. Laws are in flux and abortion can become illegal in any location. Honestly this is a good point. The argument against it might be that Texas is in a class of its own.

2. Moving ABOG from Texas will not cause enough economic harm to force a change in state laws. But what reasonable person thinks *any* action could suddenly turn Texas pro-choice?

3. ABOG is not a political organization. But if, as they claim, legal abortion is an essential part reproductive health, isn’t that in itself a political stance?

4. They would be abandoning OBGYNS in Texas by leaving. Whom are they abandoning by staying though? That is not the right frame of reference for a nation-wide organization. By observing that OBGYNs in Texas are in a dire situation, they acknowledge many of the same reasons that this is not a suitable place to situate national OBGYN certification.

New building

Perhaps ABOG’s commitment to keep the sole gatekeeping function for our nation’s reproductive health specialists in Dallas could be influenced by the new 55 million dollar 126,000 square foot building now serving as their headquarters. The second floor is dedicated to state of the art testing facilities. Such expensive testing facilities might seem to provide their own argument for an in-person requirement.

The perceived risk of acquiring and maintaining certification will almost certainly deter some doctors, or at least those who would be committed to offering abortion care, from entering obstetrics and gynecology specialties in the future, thereby compounding the widespread and lasting harm to women’s healthcare that has already occurred in this country.

Or...Maybe I am wrong. Perhaps this will all blow over with no harm done to the physicians, their patients, or the profession. And hopefully no pregnant candidates who travel to Texas for the exam will experience medical emergencies. But, assuming ABOG has currently retained its independence from the reactionary right, can it continue to resist financial and political incentives to bring their standards of care in line not with science, but with the political and religious agendas ascendant in its home state?

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Further reading:

Statement Regarding ABOG Headquarters and Texas SB4 and SB8

ABOG Supports OB GYNs and Reproductive Health and Abortion Rights

Why Are OBGYNs Being Forced to Go to Texas?

Abortion Restrictions and the Threat to Women’s Health

ABOG New Building Project Facts

Petitions on Change.org

ABOG Petition: Convert to Online Examination to Protect OBGYN Providers

ABOG Oral Boards should NOT be in Texas, a Hostile State

Stop ABOG construction of new headquarters in Dallas TX

Make 2023 OB/GYN Subspecialty Oral Boards virtual!

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