DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) – A judge has granted a request by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland to suspend a state ban on the organization’s use of a video conferencing system to distribute abortion-inducing pills in Iowa.  Judge Karen Romano granted a motion for a stay Tuesday. It means the ban cannot go into effect until a court issues a decision on it. The ban was set to go into effect Wednesday.  The ban, approved in August, requires a doctor be physically present with a woman when an abortion-inducing drug is provided.

Planned Parenthood of the Heartland says the stay will ensure Iowa women can continue to receive safe health care without delay.  Iowa Board of Medicine Executive Director Mark Bowden says he needs to review the motion before making a comment.