2020 Advocacy Activity
January
SAHM Statement in Opposition of State Legislation Barring Evidence-Based Treatment
SAHM issues statement in opposition of bills being introduced in U.S. state legislatures that would make providing pubertal blockers or cross-sex hormones for transgender and gender-diverse patients younger than 18 years-old a felony or misdemeanor for physicians and other health care providers.
February
SAHM Joins Family Planning Coalition of 80 organizations in letter to Congress to support Title X
Letter urging Congress to use the fiscal year (FY) 2021 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies appropriations bill to make a strong statement in support of Title X’s high-quality, evidence-based, and patient-centered family planning care by funding the program at $400 million.
March
SAHM joins effort to urge Congress (House and Senate) to increase funding to the CDC and NIH for firearm morbidity and mortality prevention research to a total of $50 million as part of FY 2021 appropriations.
SAHM Call to Action: Funding for the Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment Program (PSLRP)
SAHM partners with the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) to encourage members to contact their representative to support funding for PSLRP in Fiscal Year (FY) 2021
SAHM Statement: Release Immigrant Youth and their Families from ICE Detention Centers
SAHM advocates for the immediate release of detained youth and their families into the custody of appropriately screened sponsors in the U.S.
SAHM joins a coalition of leading U.S. health professional associations to demand protections for health workers
SAHM signs-on to a joint statement calling for stronger safeguards to protect health workers who speak out about the grave hazards related to shortages of personal protective equipment (PPE).
June
SAHM Encourages U.S. Administration to Reverse Decision on WHO Funding
SAHM urges the U.S. Administration to reverse this decision and to bolster U.S. support to the WHO for the sake of the world’s youth and the broader global community.
SAHM Statement about Recent Victims of Systemic Racism in Law Enforcement
SAHM issues a statement to express shared outrage, grief, and pain over the horrific murders resulting from the continued systemic racism present in law enforcement and justice systems.
August
SAHM Joins the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in Call to Senate
SAHM and a coalition of advocacy organizations join the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) in calling the Senate to include $50 million in funding for the Pediatric Subspecialty Loan Repayment Program (PSLRP).
SAHM Calls for Action to Protect Justice-Involved Youth
The Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM) urges governors, adult and juvenile justice system administrators, courts, and other state and local officials, who have not already done so, to rapidly and significantly reduce the number of youths in juvenile detention and correctional facilities by suspending new admissions and releasing those detained or incarcerated whenever possible in order to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 and the negative effects that may result from periods of medical isolation or quarantine in a confinement setting. SAHM endorses the American Academy of Pediatrics statement on responding to the needs of youth involved in the justice system during the COVID-19 pandemic.
September
Promoting Equity and Inclusion in Adolescent Medicine
A statement authored by collective of physicians training in adolescent medicine and endorsed by the SAHM Executive Committee.
October
NASPAG/SAHM Statement: The 21st Century Cures Act & Adolescent Confidentiality
A joint statement issued by the North American Society for Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (NASPAG) and Society for Adolescent Health and Medicine (SAHM) to help inform institutional policies around release of information for adolescents.
December
SAHM Joins the American Academy of Pediactrics (AAP) in Opposition to the MORE Act (H.R. 3884). This bill would remove cannabis entirely as a scheduled drug under the Controlled Substances Act and cause serious harm to the health of young people.
