Republicans in the U.S. House have approved a proposal from Congressman Steve King that would ban using any of about 15-million dollars worth of federal “telemedicine” grants for prescribing the so-called “abortion pill” known as R-U-486. “I am very concerned about the robo-distribution of abortion pills in Iowa or anywhere else,” King says. According to King, Planned Parenthood is using “telemedicine” to dispense the drug.

“A doctor sits remotely on the other side of the Skype screen, so to speak, and interviews the potential mother who, once she answers the questions that the doctor asks and they record it on their film that they’ve protected themselves, perhaps, from liability, he clicks the mouse on the one end and it opens the drawer under the screen on the other end,” King says, “and out rolls the abortion pill RU486.”

King, a Republican from Kiron, offered an amendment this past week to the agriculture appropriations bill which would prohibit U-S-D-A money from being used for telemedicine services that wind up dispensing R-U-four-86.

“This is a dangerous drug and to distribute it through robo-Skype abortions — I’m opposed to it philosophically for a lot reasons,” King says. “But practical minds who might disagree on the abortion issue should understand that this government should not be paying for it.”

A House colleague told King there was no provision in the original ag appropriations bill which called for spending U-S-D-A money on the abortion pill. King’s amendment passed, however. King wound up voting against the entire bill, though, for other reasons.

(O. Kay Henderson/Radio Iowa)