Planned Parenthood attempts to avoid ‘civil and criminal action’ for out-of-state abortion pill clients

Planned Parenthood’s latest annual report claimed that “In 21 states, Planned Parenthood patients can access medication abortion via telehealth — including site-to-site and direct-to-patient care.” However, the reality on the ground for clients who live in states that have stronger protections for preborn children may be very different. Planned Parenthood websites state that abortion pill clients who travel from out-of-state or seek the abortion pill via telehealth may need to provide proof of residency in order to obtain the regimen.

In April of 2021, under the guise of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Biden Administration FDA temporarily enabled abortion pill distribution and expanded the mifepristone safety requirements (REMS) to allow for limited mail-order pharmacy distribution. By December 2021, the Biden FDA had further weakened the REMS by eliminating the in-person dispensing requirement and enabling the abortion pill to be permanently shipped by mail.

Then in June of 2022, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned the wrongly decided Roe v. Wade decision, allowing states to set their own protections in place for preborn children. As such, abortion providers could face criminal or civil penalties for assisting in the intentional and direct killing of preborn human beings in states where it is prohibited, which has caused some within the abortion industry, like Planned Parenthood, to play it safe.

Planned Parenthood of Montana

A leaked June 2022 e-mail from Martha Fuller, the CEO of Planned Parenthood of Montana, to her staff following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision brought Planned Parenthood’s concerns to light.

“The risks around cross-state provision of services are currently less than clear, with the potential for both civil and criminal action for providing abortions in states with bans,” the e-mail read in part. “In order to comply with this change, we will be asking all MAB patients to provide proof of residency.”

A look at Planned Parenthood of Montana’s “meds by mail” webpage indicates that abortion clients are only eligible for the abortion-inducing drugs if they are “able to have… video consultation and receive the package of medications in Montana” or if the client has “an address in Montana” to “receive mail (post office General Delivery or a UPS package pickup center can work).”

National Abortion Federation protocol

The move matches one implemented by the National Abortion Federation (NAF) in August of last year. “Patients whose procedures are funded by the NAF will now need to affirm to clinic staff that they will not take their second pill in a state where abortion is illegal,” an e-mail from NAF allegedly read, according to the Washington Post.

“Under the new regulations, providers need to certify that the patient either took the pills at the clinic or promised to take them both in a state where abortion is legal up to the point when the patient received care,” the Post claimed.

Planned Parenthood of Illinois

Planned Parenthood of Illinois tells clients online, “To qualify for the abortion pill-by-mail, patients must be 10 weeks pregnant or less. Patients must also have an Illinois address and be physically in Illinois at the time of their telehealth appointment.”

A separate location, Reproductive Health Services, also tells telehealth clients for the abortion pill that “To qualify, patients need to have an Illinois address and be in Illinois at the time of their telehealth appointment.”

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan DC (DC, Maryland, Virginia)

Planned Parenthood of Metropolitan DC tells abortion pill clients, “You must be in DC, Maryland, or Virginia at the time of your telehealth visit, and medications must be mailed to an address in DC, Maryland, or Virginia.”

PP clarified, “Because of local laws, if you are a minor (under 18) in Maryland or Virginia, we cannot provide a medication abortion at home (telemedicine). You still have access to one of our in-person options.”

The website states that “abortion medications are mailed in a discrete package to your address (the package return address will say the pharmacy name ‘AMOP’ and not ‘Planned Parenthood’) or you can choose to pick them up in the health center.”

AMOP stands for the pharmacy American Mail Order Pharmacy, which Live Action News previously documented had operated from the address of a used car dealership.

Planned Parenthood in Washington State

The Washington State Planned Parenthood website tells abortion pill clients that to qualify for a medical abortion via telehealth, they must have a “Washington mailing address (where pills will be sent), [and] verbally confirm that you are in Washington at the time of your telehealth appointment (this is the state we are licensed to provide care).”

The affiliate’s disclaimer reads, “You must be within a state where abortion is legal in order to access medical abortion via telehealth. Failure to provide accurate information about your medical history or location is a violation of state laws and could put yourself and your provider at risk for legal action.” 

Planned Parenthood in Iowa

A July 2022 report from KWIT in Iowa noted that because the “Sioux City Planned Parenthood is seeing an increase in patients from states where abortion has been banned,” the Iowa Planned Parenthood is “being careful in how it handles abortions for patients from states with bans” by requiring those clients “to complete their medication abortion on-site.” KWIT added, “Rather than administering the medication orally, the clinic will administer it vaginally – which doesn’t require patients to wait 24 hours for a second dose of the medication.”

This risky same-day protocol could result in women passing their deceased preborn children on their way home, according to the aforementioned Washington Post report which states: “While both abortion pills — mifepristone and misoprostol — can be taken at the same time, if the misoprostol is taken vaginally, this method is far less popular and would [make] immediate travel risky, providers say, because the patient could begin passing the pregnancy on their way home.”

Women are publicly expressing horror after seeing their aborted babies, often floating in the toilet following a chemical abortion.

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