Telemedicine abortion is the latest way that abortion activists are trying to skirt the system and make abortion available to the masses with minimal physician oversight, which is dangerous and unnecessary. While certain states have embraced these efforts, states like Kansas have fought against the encroachment of these abortion policies. It’s been a tough fight.
Last week a Kansas judge struck down a 2015 law that would safeguard women and their unborn children by making the practice of telemedicine abortion illegal. The judge reasoned that since a similar 2011 law was blocked by a court order, telemedicine was already legal and had been since 2011. Abortion activists had successfully argued to a judge that women need a provision in case an abortion becomes “medically necessary” because the mother’s health is at risk.
Unfortunately, abortion activists fail to realize that abortion itself increases the risk to pregnant women.
The challenge with taking abortion pill as prescribed is that the results could be life threatening, it’s especially dangerous if a woman isn’t under the supervision of a medical professional. In a rural state like Kansas, a hospital could be so far away that it could be incredibly difficult if not impossible for a woman to access the medical help she needs in the event of a dangerous situation.
Some of the known complications from the use of the abortion pill include hemorrhage, infection, incomplete abortion, uterus rupture and death. It is reported that about 20% of women who take the abortion pill experience a complication and the same amount will reach out to their doctor because they’re concerned about the abortion. If the situation is severe, a woman in a rural area may not be able to get the help she needs in time.
The accessibility of medical treatment in the event of complications after a telemedicine abortion is one of the many problems with making remote abortions legal. If a woman can only access abortion through telemedicine, that means that potentially her only option for a medical intervention could be hundreds of miles away.
A decrease in the number of medical providers willing to perform abortions is part of the reason why abortion activists are pushing telemedicine abortion. In response, abortion businesses like Planned Parenthood are continually pushing legislation to legalize telemedicine and the use of nurses, pharmacists and other medical professionals to prescribe the abortion pill. This could be either in person or through the use of telemedicine abortion.
Again, Planned Parenthood and other abortion businesses don’t consider the safety of the patient when making decisions on care. Although they are anxious to get the abortion pill into the hands of as many people as they possibly can, they fail to realize that they are putting women at risk. In addition to the known abortion pill complications, potentially the most dangerous issue that a woman can have is an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy.
Usually, the diagnosis of an ectopic pregnancy, when the embryo attaches to the fallopian tubes instead of the uterus, is made during an ultrasound. It would be difficult for someone like a pharmacist to diagnose something as serious as an ectopic pregnancy, which must be removed surgically. The same problem exists with telemedicine abortion. It is entirely possible that an ectopic pregnancy could be missed and a woman put in danger as a result. This could cause permanent damage to her fallopian tube and possibly death. In the first medical tests of the abortion pill in the United States, the first reported fatality was of a woman with an undiagnosed ectopic pregnancy.
Women should not be put at risk so abortion advocates can continue to make money.
The rise in telemedicine has been great for those who live in rural locations with minimal access to medical treatment, but it shouldn’t be used to increase access to dangerous abortion inducing drugs.