State Level Advocacy
Christian Medical & Dental Associations provides grassroots support on issues at the state level. We do this by working collaboratively with like-minded coalitions, organizations and committees.
Federal Level Advocacy
We are dedicated to serving as a Christian voice on today's current healthcare topics by speaking for our members to the government, media, church and public.
Celebrating Our Advocacy Wins
We advocate to protect these rights on both legal and legislative fronts, and our victories will protect healthcare and our patients for generations to come.
The Voice of Advocacy Podcast
Learn about Advocacy’s efforts at the state and federal level, legal and legislative victories, and how you can be involved in achieving justice for the vulnerable.
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As Christians in healthcare, we glorify God by serving as a voice to the nation and standing in support of life from biblical, scientific and ethical foundations. We do this in part to equip you to defend and care for your most vulnerable patients
First Quarter 2024 Newsletter
Keeping you, our members, informed about the latest legislative and regulatory developments on both the federal and state levels, as well as our efforts to promote biblical values as we seek to protect the vulnerable in our four major issue categories, noted just to the right.
Our Core Advocacy Priorities
Our advocacy efforts focus on four main categories that align with policies where Jesus had the greatest concern, specifically in areas impacting health. Advocacy in these main categories involves a broad spectrum of actions to achieve justice for those suffering, just as Jesus outlined in scriptural principles.
Learn More About Our Priorities
“Advocating the Justice Priorities of Jesus”
by Senior Vice President of Bioethics and Public Policy Jeffrey J. Barrows, DO, MA (Ethics) Spring 2023 edition of CMDA Today.
“Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”
—Psalm 82:3-4, ESV
Take Action
What are the steps you can take to get involved in advocacy efforts?
Step 1
Prepare Your Heart to Be Courageous
The first step is to pray about how God is calling you to get involved. As a healthcare professional, your voice carries weight—and we need that weight and expertise as we stand together to bring the hope and healing of Christ to the world through advocacy.
Step 2
Be Equipped to Stand
CMDA provides a variety of resources to help prepare you to become a prominent voice in advocacy efforts, including:
These statements are designed to provide you with biblical, ethical, social and scientific understanding of bioethical issues in a compassionate and caring manner.
An annual conference teaching you to be a CMDA media representative and to prepare you to testify in your state legislature.
As the hub of CMDA’s advocacy work, this is the place the find the latest resources, track legislative bills and more.
Step 3
Join the Grassroots Efforts
Through a network of volunteers and other like-minded organizations, we have boots on the ground across the country to stand against the wave of legislative and cultural changes in both federal and state arenas.
- Contact and meet with legislators
- Prepare and submit written testimony on bills
- Testify in-person on bills
- Network and connect with like-minded individuals
- Educate the public in your local community
- Develop relationships with local contacts
Contact CMDA’s Advocacy Team to get started today!
Legal Victories
We are grateful to our partners at Alliance Defending Freedom and Becket Law for representing CMDA in these cases.
Transgender Mandate
In Franciscan Alliance v. Becerra, CMDA joined a group of religious hospitals and nine states to stand against the controversial “Transgender Mandate,” which threatens religious doctors and hospitals with penalties unless they perform transgender transitions and abortions in violation of their conscience and best medical judgment. You can visit cmda.org/transgendermandate to learn how this impacts you as a CMDA member.
EMTALA
In State of Texas v. Becerra, CMDA joined the American Association of Pro-life Obstetricians and Gynecologists (AAPLOG) to stop the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services from attempting to employ the Emergency Medical Treatment and Labor Act (EMTALA) and force physicians to provide elective abortions in the emergency room. This case is still ongoing in the court system.
California Assisted Suicide
In CMDA v. Bonta, CMDA sued the state of California after it enacted a law that required doctors to participate in assisted suicide against their religious convictions and professional ethics. A federal district court ruled in 2023 that the law violated the First Amendment rights of medical professionals.
New Mexico Assisted Suicide
In Lacy v. Torrez, CMDA joined Mark Lacy, MD, in a lawsuit to combat a New Mexico law that required doctors to facilitate assisted suicide in ways that violate their religious convictions and professional ethics. In direct response, New Mexico passed a new law in 2023 that allows medical professionals to decline to participate in assisted suicide for conscience or religious beliefs.
Legislative Victories
We collaborate with like-minded organizations and coalitions to advocate on the state level in the legislative system. And we often ask CMDA members to engage in these efforts by testifying, contacting state legislators and more. Thanks to the hard work on, we continue to be victorious in protecting life through the legislative process.
Beginning of Life
Since June 2022, we have supported efforts in a total of 22 states where abortion bans or trigger laws went into effect. Plus, eight states sought to further restrict abortion.
End of Life
Assisted suicide is currently legal in 10 states, plus the District of Columbia. With prayer and great advocacy engagement year after year, we continue to defeat the legalization of assisted suicide in the remaining 40 states.
Gender Issues
We have been successful in protecting minors struggling with gender dysphoria by helping to enact legislation that prohibits healthcare professionals from performing gender transition procedures on minors in more than 18 states.
Conscience Freedoms
The Medical Ethics and Diversity (MED) Act offers conscience protections for healthcare professionals, and we have seen it successfully become law in five states to date.
You can get more involved in legislative advocacy through the
American Academy of Medical Ethics