Late last week, the Washington Post reported that conservative politicians were targeting a relatively new method of physician-distributed medical abortion pills. Commonly called “telemedicine abortion,” this method allows physicians to consult with women via a video link-up in a clinic. If the physician is satisfied that the woman understands the procedure, he or she can then use a remote control to open a drawer in the clinic that contains the pills. This method is currently only used in Iowa, where more than 2,000 women have used this service through Planned Parenthood of the Heartland since 2008.
Now, legislators in Iowa and Nebraska have announced that they will try to ban telemedicine abortions, and this week Nebraska senator Tony Fulton is expected to introduce a state bill that would require doctors to be physically present to administer the pill. (Never mind that telemedicine abortions aren’t currently available in his state.)
Last week someone threw a Molotov cocktail into the parking lot of a Nebraska Planned Parenthood clinic. According to
Found a lot of additional tweets when I got up this morning about the Carhart clinic defense, so you’re getting a two-fer on the click list today.
Operation Rescue has its newest target: Dr. Leroy Carhart in Nebraska. Dr. Carhart provides abortions and also performs late term abortions just as Dr. Tiller did in Wichita, KS. Anti-choice extremists are launching an attack against Dr. Leroy because he is unafraid to perform abortion and protect the rights of the women and families who need them.