Ian Richardson|Des Moines Register

What will the Iowa Legislature focus on in 2021?

Iowa's legislators discuss some of the topics they plan to address in the 2021 session.

Des Moines Register, Des Moines Register

Iowa House Republicans advanced a bill Tuesday that would require physicians to provide women seeking medication-induced abortions informationabout reversing thepillseffectsinformation that critics say isunproven and scientifically disputed.

The bill,House File 53, would require doctors to provide patients with information of the risks associated with a medication-induced abortion and notify them"that it may be possible to reverse the intended effects of a medication abortion if the woman changes her mind," but "that time is of the essence."

Republicans and anti-abortion groups said the measure would provide full disclosure to women who may regret taking the first doseofabortion-inducing drugs. But Democrats and abortion rights advocates said Tuesday thelegislation would push doctors to provide their patients with unsoundinformation.

After working for several years on pro-life legislation, I have heard and read the testimonies of hundreds of women who had deep regrets of their abortion, Rep. Shannon Lundgren, R-Peosta, said in an email. Many women make this decision because they believe it is the only option they have. Informing a woman that it can be reversed should be part of that discussion to prevent the pain and suffering that many women may have by making that initial choice.

The bill would require facilities that perform medication-induced abortions to "conspicuously post a sign" relating to the possibility of "avoiding, ceasing or even reversing" the effects.The bill wouldalso require the Iowa Department of Public Health to publish information about reversing the effects on its website.

"It is unethical and dangerous for politicians to require medical professionals to share inaccurate information to promote a political agenda," Jamie Burch Elliott, a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa, said in a statement.

The measure would require doctors toprovidemedical discharge instructions that include a statement on the possibility of reversal.The state could enforce discipline against doctors who dont comply.

Instead of surgery, medication abortionsinvolve taking a combination of two drugs to terminatepregnancies. The drugs are commonly mifepristone,a pill thatblocksthehormoneprogesterone, and a second drug, misoprostol, that completes the abortion.The first dose of the drug comes a few hours or days ahead of the second,according to the Mayo Clinic.

Taken by itself, the first drugwill not always terminate the pregnancy, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists. The group saysup to half of women who take only the first drug have continued their pregnancies.

Proponents ofmedication-induced abortionreversal contend thatafter taking thefirst drug, women can takeprogesterone to reverse the effects.

Daniel Sunne, a lobbyist for the conservative Christian organization the Family Leader, said Tuesday thataccording to the Abortion Pill Rescue Network, which isconnected tothe anti-abortion organization Heartbeat International, such reversal has saved more than 2,000 lives.

We believe more unborn children will be saved if Iowa passes this bill,Sunne said.

Kim Laube, director of life ministries at Lutheran Family Service, a Christian organization that provides pregnancy support and other services,pointed to a2018case series published in the journal "Issues in Law and Medicine"that observed 754 womenwho attempted to reverse the effect of the first abortion drug. The study declared thatreversal using progesteroneis "safe and effective."

But many medical experts have criticized the observational studyfor not following proper methodology, including not having a control group.

Dr. Lindsey Jenkins, legislative chair for the Iowa chapter of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, said in a statement that the claim is "based on limited studies that are scientifically weak and rely on an ethically compromised method."

A news release from Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa, which included Jenkins' comments, pointed to a 2019 study of abortion pill "reversal" from the journal "Obstetrics & Gynecology" that … ended early due to safety issues when some of the women who participated began hemorrhaging.

"By scripting physicians and compelling them to provide medically inaccurate information and steer patients toward untested procedures, this bill is in direct violation of a physicians oath to care," she said.

Rep. Beth Wessel-Kroeschell, D-Ames, who cast the sole dissenting vote on the bill during Tuesday's subcommittee meeting, said she sides with the medical group.

"I have a master's in public administration," she said. "I would never override what the obstetricians and gynecologists would tell us when it comes to care of a pregnancy."

Lundgrensaid according to the American Association for Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, progesteronehas already shown its safe and effective through use in some high-risk pregnancies.

It is unconscionable that we would deny women information on a safe prescription that has proven to be especially effective by its use in stopping miscarriages, she said.

The three-member subcommittee advanced the bill on a 2-1 vote Monday. Thebillwill now head to the full House Human Services Committee.

If the bill becomes law, Iowa would joinsixstates with laws in effect that requiresimilarnotification Arkansas, Idaho, Kentucky, Nebraska, South Dakota and Utah accordingtothe Guttmacher Institute.Courts have temporarily enjoined related laws in three more states: North Dakota, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

Ian Richardson covers the Iowa Statehouse for the Des Moines Register. Reach him at irichardson@registermedia.com, at 515-284-8254, or on Twitter at @DMRIanR.

Read more:
Bill would require Iowa doctors to give information on medication abortion 'reversal'; critics call the information unsound - Burlington Hawk Eye

Comments are closed.