Planned Parenthood just told the state they’re adding telemed abortions in York, right after they failed their safety inspection. Will our State Senate step in to protect women?

A new threat has presented itself in Pennsylvania that may increase abortions in our state and potentially result in abortions being performed in new neighborhoods and communities.

The Pennsylvania Department of Health reports that the Planned Parenthood in York, PA is “adding TeleMedication Abortion.” This was reported during an occupancy survey conducted on August 6, 2019.

Our state legislature is currently working to pass telemedicine here in Pennsylvania, but with language that would effectively prohibit chemical abortions through use of telemedicine. Senate Bill 857 (SB 857) has been amended by the PA House to include pro-life language that would prohibit telemedicine abortions. The pro-abortion lobby, including Planned Parenthood, and pro-abortion lawmakers are actively working to remove this amendment. 

Please contact your State Senator and ask them to keep the pro-life amendment to SB 857 and protect the safety of women in Pennsylvania!

Telemed abortion is a business model favoring profits over patients.

Planned Parenthood announced in 2018 it was going to open 10 new “video chat abortion locations” nationwide. The corporation is seeking to expand its telemedicine app, Planned Parenthood Direct, to all 50 states by the end of next year, offering birth control and other limited services. Telemed abortions, or “webcam abortions” – where a doctor is not present with the patient but will prescribe an abortion pill – are becoming a new way for expanding their abortion-centered business model. 

Not only does Planned Parenthood York indicate they’re adding telemed abortions, they’re failing health inspections.

Planned Parenthood York failed their recent annual registration survey (June 6), part of the requirements under the ambulatory surgical facilities regulations, after it was determined that they:

  1. “[F]ailed to have the necessary equipment available for resuscitation if such a need arose,” 
  2. “[F]ailed to have a physician privileged prior to practicing” (the documentation was not completed),
  3. “[F]ailed to follow their policy to ensure Immune Globulin was administered,”
  4. “[F]ailed to meet the minimum Medicare standard” (this included no daily sterilization, no documentation of anesthetic drugs, and no documentation of refrigerator temps when the facility was closed.)

This again underscores how Planned Parenthood is putting profits over patients.

Planned Parenthood York performs hundreds of abortions every year. In 2018, they reported 751 abortions, a 30% increase from the prior year. Statewide, Planned Parenthood is the largest abortion business in Pennsylvania, responsible for half of all abortions performed across the Commonwealth.

Planned Parenthood, and other abortion businesses in Pennsylvania, are increasingly performing chemical abortions in Pennsylvania. In 2008, chemical abortions (otherwise called medical or nonsurgical abortions) accounted for just over 5,000 abortions, or 14% of all abortions in the Commonwealth. Today, that number has doubled to over 11,000 abortions, representing nearly 40% of all abortions in Pennsylvania. 

With this announcement in York, it’s safe to say other Planned Parenthood locations in Pennsylvania are planning to perform telemed abortions as well. In 2018, then-Planned Parenthood President Cecile Richards came to Lancaster, PA to announce “exciting plans for Lancaster.” The threat of telemed abortions at their Lancaster facility is especially concerning because this location, and all of Lancaster County, currently does not perform any elective abortions.

We need our state elected officials to stop telemed abortions in Pennsylvania. Senate Bill 857 would stop telemed abortions in Pennsylvania after being amended by the PA House to include limitations language requiring a doctor to administer in-person any of the drugs listed by the FDA Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies (REMS), which includes the abortion drug Mifeprex.

Please contact your State Senator in support of the amended SB857 and let’s keep telemed abortions out of Pennsylvania. To email your State Senator, click here or go to pafamily.org/notelemedabortions.