Iowa advances abortion‑pill limits

Iowa House Republicans moved a bill Tuesday that would force in-person visits before abortion pills can be prescribed or dispensed. (iowacapitaldispatch.com) House File 2563 cleared a House Appropriations subcommittee on April 14 after earlier surviving the House Health and Human Services committee process. The bill would require a physician to perform an in-person examination and screen for coercion or abuse before an abortion. (legis.iowa.gov) (iowacapitaldispatch.com) The measure also says a physician must get the patient’s signature on the United States Food and Drug Administration patient agreement form before prescribing or dispensing an abortion-inducing drug. That would cut against telehealth and mail-order prescribing that providers use in states where it is allowed. (legis.iowa.gov) (fda.gov) The state fight is colliding with a federal one. On April 13, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America said 78 anti-abortion groups sent Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche a letter urging the Justice Department to stop opposing state lawsuits over abortion-pill rules. (sbaprolife.org) (familycouncil.org) That pressure campaign targets the federal system that now lets certified prescribers use certified pharmacies, including mail delivery, for mifepristone. The Food and Drug Administration says it modified the mifepristone safety program on January 3, 2023, so the drug may be dispensed in person or by mail. (fda.gov) Medication abortion is now the main way abortions are provided in much of the country. Guttmacher Institute says medication abortion accounted for 65% of clinician-provided abortions in the United States in 2023. (guttmacher.org) Iowa already bars most abortions after about six weeks of pregnancy. The Iowa Supreme Court allowed that law to take effect in June 2024, and enforcement began on July 29, 2024. (iowacapitaldispatch.com) (iowapublicradio.org) Supporters of House File 2563 told lawmakers the bill would block what Representative Devon Wood called “black market” abortion medication from unlicensed or unregulated sources. Opponents, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said the proposal could restrict care and sweep in drugs such as misoprostol that are also used for ulcers, labor induction and postpartum bleeding. (iowacapitaldispatch.com) Wood said she planned to drop earlier language about “reversing the intended effects of a chemical abortion” after medical groups said that claim was not supported by science. The bill now moves on as Iowa Republicans try to add a state in-person rule to a national push against mail-order abortion pills. (iowacapitaldispatch.com)