The Iowa Supreme Court ruled today by unanimous decision to overturn the Iowa Board of Medicine’s ban on “webcam” abortions, a practice in which women are provided abortion-inducing drugs remotely, without any in-person examination by a doctor.
The decision clears the way for Planned Parenthood of the Heartland to perform this dangerous procedure.
Regrettably, the court’s decision allows abortionists to defy basic medical standards meant to put women’s safety first.
The FAMiLY LEADER agrees with the Alliance Defending Freedom – a non-profit legal organization that filed a friend-of-the-court brief in the case – that the Iowa Supreme Court was should have upheld the common-sense ban, which is similar to protections for pregnant women in 16 other states. Abortion is too serious a medical procedure to be performed without in-person care by a licensed physician.
Planned Parenthood and other abortionists must be held to basic medical standards of care, and little is more basic than an in-person examination by a physician before a procedure that poses serious health risks. Regardless of one’s position on abortion, everyone should agree that Planned Parenthood should not be allowed to jeopardize women’s lives by disregarding established medical protocols.
“Planned Parenthood’s main concern should be the health and safety of women, not its bottom line,” commented ADF Senior Counsel Michael J. Norton.
ADF filed its brief in Planned Parenthood of the Heartland v. Iowa Board of Medicine on behalf of the American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists; Donna J. Harrison, M.D.; Iowa Right to Life; and Susan Thayer, a former director of an Iowa Planned Parenthood facility who resigned her position rather than perform “webcam” abortions.
ADF attorneys also represent Thayer in a separate lawsuit against Planned Parenthood of the Heartland that accuses the abortion giant of massive healthcare fraud and abuse of taxpayer dollars.
