Judge Suspends Ban on Iowa Abortion Pill System
Source: Associated Press
DES MOINES, Iowa November 6, 2013 (AP)
By BARBARA RODRIGUEZ Associated Press
An Iowa judge ruled Tuesday that Planned Parenthood could still use video conferencing to distribute abortion-inducing pills while the organization challenges a new ban on the practice in court.
The ban, approved by the Iowa Board of Medicine in August, was scheduled to take effect Wednesday.
The new rules require a doctor to be physically present with a woman when an abortion-inducing drug is provided. The change targeted Planned Parenthood of the Heartland's practice of enabling doctors, typically based in Des Moines, to prescribe the drugs while meeting with patients in rural areas though a secure Internet video connection.
In granting Planned Parenthood's request for a temporary stay, Polk County District Judge Karen Romano said the board had not supplied evidence that the system was either unsafe or negatively impacted patient health. Rather, she said the ban could delay a woman's ability to have a chemical abortion or force a woman to have a surgical abortion.
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Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/judge-suspends-ban-iowa-abortion-pill-system-20796540
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