Ohio Lawmakers Vote to Abolish Telemedicine Abortions

Ohio lawmakers have passed legislation barring the use of telemedicine in medication abortions, joining 19 other states in eliminating the connected health service.

Senate Bill 260 was approved by the House in a 54-30 vote last week, following Senate passage this past March, and now heads to Republican Governor Mike DeWine for his signature.

The 34-page bill focuses on the use of mifepristone to induce a medical abortion. Through a telehealth platform, doctors can prescribe the drug and remotely monitor the patient during the procedure. But in 19 states and soon Ohio, the law cites the US Food and Drug Administration’s Risk Evaluations and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) protocol, which requires that so-called risky drugs be dispensed in a healthcare setting under the direct supervision of the care provider, and that patients be advised of the drug’s dangers.

Abortion advocates, including Planned Parenthood, have long argued that telehealth platforms can improve access to care for underserved women – and important factor during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, which has forced many clinics to close or curtail hours and push as many services as possible onto virtual care platforms.

“People should be able to access safe, quality abortion no matter who they are or where they live,” Lauren Blauvelt-Copelin, of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Ohio, told Ohio Public Media in March. “Ohio legislators should not be in the business of taking health care away from its citizens, and instead, focus on expanding access to reproductive health care.”

Opponents, meanwhile, say the process isn’t safe.

“As the proportion of chemically-induced abortion continues to increase, greater care – not less – ought to be exercised in ensuring women’s safety,” Ohio Right to Life Vice President Stephanie Krider said in a press release. “While it is too late for the unborn baby on whom the effects of this drug will be almost certainly fatal, using telemedicine to dispense dangerous, abortion-inducing drugs, as Planned Parenthood is already doing in Ohio, shows the abortion industry’s lack of regard for the danger it poses their patients. It is unacceptable to compromise patient safety for the convenience of the industry.”

The Ohio vote is just the latest skirmish in this year’s battle over telemedicine abortions.

In April, US Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) petitioned the FDA to remove mifepristone from the REMS protocol so that it could be used in telemedicine abortions.

And in July, a federal judge in Maryland gave healthcare providers the green light to conduct telemedicine abortions during the ongoing public health emergency caused by the pandemic.

“In-Person requirements, combined with the Covid-19 pandemic, place a substantial obstacle in the path of women seeking a medication abortion and that may delay or preclude a medication abortion and thus may necessitate a more invasive procedure,” US District Court Judge Theodore Chuang wrote in a preliminary injunction issued in a lawsuit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union on behalf of several groups, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the New York State Academy of Family Physicians and the Sistersong Women of Color Reproductive Justice Collective. “Particularly in light of the limited timeframe during which a medication abortion or any abortion must occur, such infringement on the right to an abortion would constitute irreparable harm.”

The US Supreme Court had asked Chuang in October to “dissolve, modify or stay” his ruling, but Chuang reaffirmed his July order earlier this month, saying circumstances haven’t changed to affect the ruling and it would remain in effect until 30 days after the end of the public health emergency.

Meanwhile, three bills have been filed in Congress seeking to enforce the REMS protocol and abolish telemedicine abortions. And in Pennsylvania, lawmakers are debating a new telehealth bill after a previous bill was vetoed in April by Governor Tom Wolf because it included language banning telemedicine abortions.