House Democrats Press for Telehealth Access to Abortion Services

House Democrats have introduced a resolution aimed at pressuring the federal government to loosen the reins on telehealth for abortion services.

US Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY), Chairwoman of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, and members of the Pro-Choice Caucus filed the resolution this week asking that “policies governing access to medication abortion care in the United States should be equitable and based on science.”

The resolution takes aim at a US Food and Drug Administration guideline on mifepristone, one of two drugs used in medication abortions. The drug is included in the FDA’s Risk Evaluations and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) protocol, which requires that drugs determined to be risky be dispensed in a healthcare setting under the direct supervision of a certified care provider, and that patients be advised of the drug’s dangers.

Abortion opponents, including legislators in several republican-controlled states, have seized on that guideline to argue that medication abortions are too dangerous, and that telehealth shouldn’t be used at all in abortion services or should be preceded by an in-person visit. Supporters, meanwhile, say the drug is safe and that telehealth bans and in-person care mandates unnecessarily restrict access to care and put underserved women at risk.

In July 2020, a federal district court shot down the FDA’s requirement for an in-person exam before telehealth could be used to facilitate a medication abortion, citing the challenges to in-person care brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. The US Supreme Court reinstated that requirement this past March. In April, the FDA temporarily lifted those guidelines again, referencing the continuing pandemic, and in May acting FDA Commissioner Janet Woodcock said the agency would look into lifting those restrictions permanently.

Maloney and some 75 Democratic members of Congress want to make sure that review isn’t influenced by politics.

“It is the sense of the House of Representatives that policies governing access to medication abortion care in the United States should (1) be grounded in science and based on a scientific review of available medical evidence; and (2) ensure equitable access for patients harmed by restrictions that (A) have impeded access to sexual and reproductive health care; and (B) have worsened health disparities for people of color, immigrants, people with lower incomes, and people in other marginalized communities,” the resolution states.

Among those supporting the resolution was Physicians for Reproductive Health.

“Mifepristone, one of the two medications used in medication abortion care, faces onerous restrictions by the FDA that are not based in medical evidence,” Jamila Perritt, MD, the group’s president and CEO, said in a press release. “These restrictions work to push abortion care out of reach for countless people. Everyone should be able to access this essential healthcare in the way that meets their individual needs, including via telehealth care. Political barriers ignoring medicine and science push care out of reach for those who already face the most barriers to care including patients working to make ends meet, communities of color, young people, and those living in rural areas.”