Planned Parenthood has filed suit in federal court to block new restrictions on medical abortions. Arizona Public Radio’s Howard Fischer reports.
The organization currently uses RU-486 to induce abortion through the ninth week of pregnancy in combination with another drug a woman can take at home. But, HB 2036, approved in 2012, spells out it can be used in Arizona only as approved by the Food and Drug Administration. That means only through seven weeks, in higher doses, requiring another trip to a clinic and higher expense. And for women beyond seven weeks, that means a surgical procedure. Proponents, led by the anti-abortion Center for Arizona Policy, said they are looking out for the health of women. But, Bryan Howard, president of Planned Parenthood Arizona, said that’s not true.
“It’s clear the real purpose of House Bill 2036 was to restrict access to safe, legal abortion in Arizona, and to interfere in a woman’s private medical decisions,” Howard said.
Josh Kredit of the Center for Arizona Policy said opposition is all about Planned Parenthood preferring to offer medical abortions to women for profit reasons.
“It’s easier for them to sell it to them. They want to be able to use it beyond the FDA protocols and be able to market it to women. And that is profit driven,” Kredit said.
But, Kredit sidestepped multiple questions of how forcing women to undergo a more complex and expensive procedure to terminate their pregnancy means more money for Planned Parenthood.
