Gov. Mark Dayton vetoed a bill that would have required a doctor to physically be in the patient’s room when administering the RU-486 abortion pill.
Rep. Joyce Peppin (R-Rogers) and Sen. Paul Gazelka (R-Brainerd) sponsor the bill, which would also have required the doctor to encourage the woman to return within 12 to 18 days to confirm that the pregnancy was properly terminated.
The federally-approved drug carries a restriction that only a physician can administer the drug. But for some women, access can be a problem, so some doctors use tele-medicine practices, which matches doctor and patient, who are physically miles apart, together on a closed-circuit camera for consultation and instruction.
Peppin said there have been reported cases of excessive bleeding, incomplete termination of pregnancies or death as a result of taking the drug.
In his veto letter Dayton said, “Telemedicine has been a commonly used form of health care service delivery for nearly two decades. … This bill’s unique, new regulatory burden for a single procedure would increase the cost of health care and add unnecessary new barriers to a constitutionally protected health care service for women.”
HF2341*/
SF1912/CH252
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