Rep. Greg Steube Introduces the Women’s Protection in Telehealth Act
WASHINGTON – U.S. Representative Greg Steube (R-Fla.) today introduced legislation to ban Medicare funds from going to health care providers who use telehealth for abortion services.
The legislation ensures no payment may be made under the Medicare program to a health care provider who knowingly provides or attempts to provide a chemical abortion without a physician physically examining the patient, without being physically present at the location of the chemical abortion, and without scheduling a follow-up visit for the patient. If a provider provides a single teleabortion service, they would be entirely ineligible from Medicare participation for any service.
“I believe in the right to life for our country’s most vulnerable citizens, our children. While all abortions are horrific, progressive leftists want abortions to be as easy as online shopping with same-day delivery. Teleabortions have exploded in the last few years, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic and the Supreme Court’s rightful decision to overturn Roe v. Wade. As abortionists circumvent state laws to end the lives of unborn children, telehealth must not be weaponized to terminate a human life,” said Rep. Steube. “Medicare dollars have no place funding providers who enable ‘Do it yourself’ unsupervised chemical abortions. My legislation seeks to end this dangerous, morally wrong practice by preventing Medicare from paying telehealth abortionists.”
The legislation is cosponsored by Representatives Jeff Duncan (R-S.C.), Debbie Lesko (R-Ariz.), Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas), and Warren Davidson (R-Ohio).
The legislation is supported by the National Right to Life, March for Life Action, Family Research Council, Students for Life Action, Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists Action, Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, and Americans United for Life.
“We applaud Congressman Steube on prioritizing women’s safety with the Women’s Protection in Telehealth Act,” said Penny Nance, CEO and President of Concerned Women for America Legislative Action Committee, the nation’s largest public policy organization for women. “Let’s be clear, there is nothing safe or effective about allowing women to perform their own DIY abortion, with the risk of hemorrhaging on their bathroom floor alone, with nowhere to turn for help, terrified that they might die. Pharmacies recent push to distribute abortion pills like candy is dangerous for women. The Congressman’s bill prioritizes women’s safety by ensuring a physician must evaluate the woman in person, monitor her, and create a follow up appointment in order for his practice to participate in the Medicare Program.”
“While Joe Biden is putting the health and safety of women and girls at risk by removing safety standards for dangerous abortion drugs, Rep. Steube is in line with the majority of Americans who oppose sending abortion drugs through the mail. Thank you Rep. Steube for introducing the critically needed Women’s Protection in Telehealth Act, to ensure basic safety standards for these high-risk drugs.” – Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America.
“Abusing the tool of Telemedicine to fast-track the distribution of deadly Chemical Abortion Pills represents a heartless approach to medicine. Without proper, in person screening, women are exposed to injury, infertility, and death, as well as made vulnerable to abusers who can use Chemical Abortion Pills against women and girls without their knowledge or consent. The issue is not with Telemedicine, but with the misuse of it, something that Rep. Greg Steube (R-FL) is confronting with this thoughtful approach to life-affirming healthcare. Students for Life Action fully supports the Women’s Protection in Telehealth Act.” – Students for Life Action
“While every abortion is horrific because it takes the life of an unborn child, the abortion drug, mifepristone, is especially dangerous because of the harms it poses to the mother as well. Right now, without the requirement of an examination by a physician, the CDC label admits 1 in 25 women visit an emergency room following the use of the abortion drug, mifepristone. Failure to diagnose ectopic pregnancy or Rh incompatibility, or to accurately assess the gestational age of the unborn baby, are a few major risks that could be avoided by an in-person examination with a physician, and an in-person follow-up with a physician could minimize complications from an incomplete abortion. Still, killing an unborn child is not healthcare, and there is nothing that can be done to prevent the heartbreak and devastation a mother feels when she realizes her unborn child has been killed through abortion. Mifepristone is not safe. We are grateful to Representative Steube for his efforts to reduce the damage this horrendous drug causes,” said Mary Szoch, Director of the Center for Human Dignity, Family Research Council.
“Right now, women are using high risk drugs to carry out their own abortions at home, in their college dorm, and elsewhere. As doctors on the front lines, we see the fall-out firsthand as we treat women experiencing significant and devastating complications. Abortion drugs take the life of at least one of our patients when they are administered – this bill would simply help decrease the chance of complications for his or her mother and ensure she has ongoing medical care. We thank Congressman Steube for his leadership on efforts to improve the health and safety of women,” said Christina Francis, MD, dip ABOG, CEO, American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists Action.
“National Right to Life commends Rep. Greg Steube for introducing the Women’s Protection in Telehealth Act. The Biden Administration has taken unprecedented steps to eliminate basic safety protections for women undergoing chemical abortions despite the documented dangers of severe pain and hemorrhaging as well as the possible rupture of an ectopic pregnancy. These drugs are lethal for the unborn child, and potentially lethal for the mother. It is critical that women receive an in-person examination to reduce her risk of life-threatening complications. The Women’s Protection in Telehealth Act would restore a needed measure of patient safety for the mother,” said Carol Tobias, President of National Right to Life.
Background
Chemical abortion pills have a long, documented history of injury, hospitalization, infertility, and even death. The drugs are currently available on demand in some states to pregnant mothers via a telehealth appointment, and the FDA has allowed the distribution of these drugs through the mail. More than half of all abortions in the United States are chemical abortions.
According to Concerned Women for America, “Mifepristone is used to terminate a pregnancy up to ten weeks, but the lack of medical oversight and access to emergency medical assistance can be fatal to young women taking it alone and late in pregnancy. This drug blocks the mother’s natural production of progesterone for her child, cutting off blood and nourishment to the baby. The unborn child begins to starve to death. Between 24-48 hours later, the woman takes Misoprostol which causes the mother to contract and bleed to force the child out of the womb.”
In January 2023, the FDA permanently removed the in-person dispensing requirement for these dangerous drugs, enabling abortions on demand without in-person medical supervision.
The U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in March 2024 for the FDA V. ALLIANCE FOR HIPPOCRATIC MEDICINE and DANCO LABORATORIES, L.L.C. V. ALLIANCE FOR HIPPOCRATIC MEDICINE to determine when and how chemical abortion drugs may be distributed.
