Telemedicine is a safe and effective way of delivering medical abortion care

Our CPGs set the standard for quality abortion care in North America. Contrary to Lazich’s statements, our CPGs do not require that a physician conducts a physical exam or be present when a woman takes the first medication to begin a medical abortion.

During a medical abortion, a woman takes one medication at a facility, and then completes the process by taking a second medication in the privacy of her home. Medical abortion gives women a safe and effective way to terminate a pregnancy in the first trimester, and a growing number of facilities have sought to increase women’s access to such care using telemedicine.

Telemedicine is safely expanding a wide range of health care, from cardiac care to asthma care. When telemedicine is used for medical abortion care, a supervising physician talks to the patient about the procedure via live two-way video conference while a nurse is in the room with the patient. Telemedicine has proven to be a safe and effective way of delivering medical abortion care.

The proposed bill in Wisconsin is politically-motivated and not about protecting women’s health. That’s why groups including the Wisconsin Medical Society oppose it. Decisions about medical procedures and patient care should be left to clinicians and their patients, not politicians like Lazich who have their own personal agenda of banning abortion.