On behalf of Physicians, our board chair Nancy L. Stanwood, MD, MPH, has issued the following statement:
Yesterday our medical community, and our country, were rocked by a heinous act of terrorism against a clinic that provides reproductive health services. As physicians, we stand in solidarity today and every day with our colleagues across the nation.
This campaign of terror — waged over decades against those of us who provide this critical care — is reprehensible and must end. The poisonous environment that incubates this terrorism, and the passivity of elected officials who tolerate it, must end as well.
This morning, our hearts are heavy but our resolve is strong. And this morning, just as we did yesterday morning, doctors, nurses, and clinic staff went to work at reproductive health clinics across our country.
We are there because our conscience compels us to be there. We are there because we see our patients’ need and we must respond. We are there because no act of violence is stronger than an act of compassion. And that is what we do for our patients: we serve them not only with excellent medical care, but with the compassion they deserve.