Des Moines, IA – Based on information from Operation Rescue, the Des Moines Register published a story on the Planned Parenthood "telemed abortion" scheme in the Sunday edition of their newspaper confirming Operation Rescue's assertions that abortions by pill will increase if this system is sold to other abortion clinics.

"The Register article confirmed almost everything we have said about 'telemed' abortions," said Operation Rescue President Troy Newman. "Indeed, Planned Parenthood admits that a licensed physician never personally examines abortion patients. We believe this is a dangerous and very likely illegal process that needs to be stopped before it spreads and costs lives."

Operation Rescue released a special report detailing the telemed abortion scheme in late March and filed complaints with the Iowa Board of Medicine a week later. Operation Rescue later received confirmation that an investigation by the IBM is underway.

"Abortionists can now sit in their pajamas in front of a computer and kill thousands of babies," said Newman. "The lack of abortionists is the Achilles heel of the abortion industry and they are willing to go to any extreme to make sure abortions continue, even if it compromises the health and safety of women, as this push-button abortion scheme does. When most people hear about this, they are appalled."

One important aspect of telemed abortions not mentioned by The Register is the fact that Planned Parenthood bills insurance companies $1,000 for a telemed abortion — twice the price of cash patients, two and a half time more than the national average cost of an abortion by pill. This over-billing practice increases health insurance costs for everyone.

"We expect the abortion cartel to fight us tooth and nail because, with only a fraction of the overhead, there is a huge amount of money to be made in telemed abortions," said Newman. "Exposing this has definitely put Planned Parenthood on the defensive."

  • Read Faraway Doctors Give Abortion Pills By Video in the Des Moines Register.
  • Read OR's Special Report on 'Telemed Abortions'
  • A tip to the Abortion Whistleblowers hotline helped expose this abortion abuse. Learn more about the Abortion Whistleblowers program.