ACOEP has learned of several cases in which the COVID-19 crisis is being utilized against emergency physicians in custody cases as a justification for taking children from their parents, sometimes defying court-ordered custody arrangements.

Weaponizing an already traumatic situation as a means to harm the very individuals who place themselves at the front lines of this pandemic is abhorrent.

Emergency physicians place the upmost importance on the health and safety of our communities, and it should not need to be stated that this unquestionably extends to the very children of emergency physicians. Leveraging the life-saving work emergency physicians do on a daily basis is unconscionable.

ACOEP stands in staunch support of these parents, who should not be required to fight for their rights as parents at the very moment our country is asking them to fight for us as physicians.