Iowa Expands Access to Abortion

A court in Iowa has ruled that doctors can provide prescriptions for abortion drugs over a video link, bucking a recent trend of state laws that have limited women's access to abortion services across the country.

The New York Times reports that the decision was made by the Iowa Supreme Court, which struck down a rule that would have made it illegal for doctors to prescribe abortion drugs using video. The practice of using video links to provide abortion drugs was pioneered in Iowa, and began in 2008.

The rule was put in place in 2013 by the Iowa Board of Medicine and stated that a doctor must physically evaluate the patient first, and also be physically present when dispensing the drugs. The board consisted of all Republicans appointed by the state's Republican pro-life governor at the time.

As one of the most rural states in the United States, it can be difficult for women to travel to large cities in order to see reproductive health specialists and get the care that they need.

The court ruled that preventing doctors from making the prescriptions via video was an undue burden on a woman's constitutional right to an abortion because the prescriptions are only given after a woman has already had an ultrasound and lab work done. The video conferences also take place in the presence of a registered nurse who is in the same room as the patient.

After the doctor talks with the patient and nurse, they press a button that opens a locked drawer in the exam room that holds the drugs. The doctor then watches the patient to ensure that the drugs are taken properly and completely.

The Iowa decision stands in stark contrast to legal decisions aroudn the country that have limited women's access to abortion.  A recent decision in Texas forced the majority of the state's abortion providers to shut down.