Staff Reports
This week, an affiliate of Planned Parenthood started providing abortion services through telemedicine, which is aimed at increasing the outreach of the organization to patients.
In November, a judge in Kansas prevented a law from taking effect that would have prevented telemedicine visits for abortions. Three weeks later, several clinics in the state started offering the procedure through telemedicine calls. They said this would help relieve the pressure on the medical system.
Due to the state's strict abortion laws, which have been in place for a long time, Kansas became a center for those who seek termination of pregnancy. This region is also surrounded by states with abortion bans. Through this service, Planned Parenthood was able to fill the void. Emily Wales, the CEO of the organization's Great Plains region, said that they are currently seeing a few patients through telemedicine calls.
According to Wales, the organization is experiencing an overwhelming need for the services that it provides. She said that they are not able to see all of the calls that they are receiving.
She noted that they usually see patients from various areas in the organization's region, but people from Louisiana and South Texas also travel to receive services from Planned Parenthood.
Elizabeth Nash, a policy analyst for the Guttmacher Institute, said that Kansas is very important for abortion access. Through telehealth, she noted that capacity could be relieved by reducing the pressure on the system.
According to Wales, the lack of consistent staffing at the Wichita clinic has led to it only providing two or three days of services a week. The other facilities in the region, such as those in Kansas City, provide more consistent care.
In addition, Wales said that she has not been able to interview any potential providers who have not asked about security concerns. In 2009, an anti-abortion extremist killed George Tiller, who was a doctor who was one of the few providers in the country who performed late-term abortions.
Although 17 states allow abortion services through telemedicine, they also ban the procedure in some areas, such as Kansas. Some of the states that have bans include Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Missouri. In the Great Plains, abortionists affiliated with Planned Parenthood provide the procedure in these states.
Medical abortions are performed through a two-step process that takes 48 hours. However, problems can occur during this process, which can require additional medical attention. It's also important that women are checked after the procedure is completed.
A pro-life group responded to this development in Kansas.
The group noted that the abortion industry is putting its own interests ahead of the health of women. In a statement, KFL's director of communications said that the industry is putting profits over the safety of women.
It is also important to note that the actions of abortionists in Kansas are putting the health of women at risk. They are intentionally not providing adequate care for their patients.
According to Underwood, the pro-life groups in Kansas have been warning the public about the actions of the abortion industry. They noted that the industry would like to make Kansas an abortion destination.
According to Kansans for Life, studies have shown that around one in 20 women who undergo chemical abortions suffer from a failed procedure. This means that rural women are more vulnerable if there is an emergency.
After the Supreme Court ruled that there is no right to abortion in the Constitution, the state of Kansas shocked the country when it voted against a proposed constitutional amendment. This was regarded as a key victory for the anti-abortion movement in the midterm elections.
The preceding is a summary of an article that originally appeared on Hot Air.
