A bill that would ban the use of webcam, or telemed abortions, has received the support of the Arkansas Senate and the state House has approved a similar measure.
The webcam, or telemed abortion, process has women going to Planned Parenthood for an RU 486 drug-induced abortion getting the drug from a nurse or other employee. The patient is denied an in-person consultation with a licensed physician the FDA suggests and she instead visits with the abortion practitioner via a webcam hookup.
The Planned Parenthood abortion business began using this process in Iowa and has been expanding it to more rural and remote stares because of the expense and difficulty in recruiting abortion practitioners and getting them to all of the Planned Parenthood centers in a certain state.
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Here’s more on passage of the ban:
The Arkansas Senate passed a bill Thursday that would ban a doctor from prescribing drugs via telemedicine, or consultation through video, to induce an abortion. The measure passed 29 to 4.
Democratic Senator Joyce Elliott of Little Rock was one of the few in opposition and the only member to rise to speak.
Republican Senator Missy Irvin of Mountain Home said it’s a good preventative move with broad support.
“I think it just shows that this was a good bipartisan effort in support, to protect the life of the unborn, and I just very much appreciate that. I think it’s a common sense bill that really does speak to the safety and the health of the mother,” said Irvin.
An identical bill has already passed the House. The two chambers are expected to take up each other’s legislation next week.
Telemed abortions are those where women visit an abortion center and don’t meet in person with a physician before taking the dangerous RU 486 abortion drug, as the FDA suggests. Instead, they are only given access to a doctor over a Skype computer connection before being prescribed the drug that has killed potentially dozens worldwide and injured more than 1,100 in the United States alone as of 2006, according to the Food and Drug Administration.
