Ohio Lawmakers Move Closer to Banning Telemedicine Abortions

Ohio’s Senate has approved a ban on the use of telemedicine in abortions, pushing the state closer to becoming the 19^th to prohibit the service.

By a 20-9 vote, with two Republicans joining the Democrats in opposition, SB 260 was approved and sent on to the House, where Republicans have a strong majority.

The 69-page bill mirrors an effort by Pennsylvania lawmakers – as well as three bills filed in Congress – to ban telemedicine abortions. All cite the US Food and Drug Administration’s Risk Evaluations and Mitigation Strategies (REMS) protocol, which requires that drugs determined to be risky (like the abortion-causing drug Mifepristone, or Mifeprex) be dispensed in a healthcare setting under the direct supervision of the care provider, and that patients be advised of the drug’s dangers.

“This legislation is vital for patient safety,” Republican State Sen. Stephen A. Huffman said when he introduced the bill in January. “While it’s too late for the unborn baby, who will undoubtedly lose her life, physicians should never take this procedure so lightly as to fail to even be present when administering a drug that is known to have such serious side effects. It is a doctor’s duty to ensure that patients are not exposed to greater risk by recklessly dispensing drugs that are known to have life-threatening consequences.”

Among those supporting the bill is Ohio Right to Life, while Planned Parenthood has been active in opposing the measure. Some 30 percent of abortions conducted in the state are medication-induced, while nine clinics offer the service.

“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."

Planned Parenthood has focused its arguments on the lack of access faced by rural and remote women – several clinics have been shuttered over the past decade because of the state’s restrictive abortion laws - and evidence showing that telemedicine abortions aren’t dangerous.

"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. "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."

Last August, the organization unveiled the results of a study showing that the service is as safe as an abortion conducted by a doctor in a clinic.

“As access to abortion shrinks across the country, telemedicine is one strategy for expanding patients’ access to safe, legal abortion, including for those living in remote or rural areas,” Dr. Julia Kohn, lead author of the study and the national director of research, evaluation and data analytics for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, said in a press release.

“This study confirms what we know firsthand: Telemedicine can improve health equity by ensuring that more people have access to the care they need - including abortion - in a timely manner by reducing the barriers that make it harder for people to get care, including securing transportation, childcare and time off work,” she added.