Meeting Public Comments

Names and comments are public records. Remaining information is considered a confidential record.

Comments Submitted:

02-08-2022

Sarah Costello []

My name is Sarah Costello and I am from Solon, Iowa. I am an Iowa medical student and I am voicing my strong opposition to this bill. The American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology is very clear in their recommendations around abortion reversal, there is NOT sufficient evidence that medical abortions can be safely or effectively reversed. Unfounded legislative mandates represent dangerous political interference and compromise patient care and safety. Please trust the experts on this one and vote 'no' on HF 383. Legislative mandates based on unproven, unethical research are dangerous to womens health.

Attachment

02-09-2022

Emily Trudeau []

My name is Emily Trudeau and I am from Sioux City, Iowa. I am a 4th year medical student in Iowa planning to practice family medicine. I am strongly opposed to HF383 because it is unsafe and unethical for my patients. This bill states that it may be possible to reverse the intended effects of a medication abortion when in fact there is no scientific, peerreviewed evidence in the literature to support this. The only wellknown study attempted was emergently stopped because 25% of the participants experienced severe hemorrhage in the study. Of note, hemorrhage is a very rare occurrence with conventional administration of medication abortion with mifepristone and misoprostol. As well, this study was initiated based on two incomplete, methodologically flawed case series. Currently, mifepristone antagonization, which is what abortion reversal medication refers to, is considered experimental. Requiring providers to provide information to their patients under penalty of licensee discipline, when there is no sound scientific evidence that this is possible or safe for our patients, is unethical and violates our Hippocratic Oath. We should not be experimenting on our patients and we definitely should not be forced by the government to experiment on them. Thank you for your time.

02-09-2022

Jamie Burch Elliott [Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa & Planned Parenthood North Central States]

My name is Jamie Burch Elliott, lobbyist for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Iowa and Planned Parenthood North Central States. We are opposed to HF 383, a measure that would force medical professionals to tell patients information that is not supported by science, including claiming there is the potential to reverse a medication abortion. Leading medical organizations, including the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, do not support such measures, saying they are not supported by science and these unfounded legislative mandates represent dangerous political interference, while compromising patient care and safety. Doctors who fail to comply with this bill would be subject to disciplinary action being taken against their license. The twodrug regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol for medication abortion has been safe and legal in the U.S. since the FDA approved its use almost 20 years ago. Since then, it has been used by more than 4 million people in the United States, with a welldocumented safety record in more than 100 research publications. Abortion reversal is a medically inaccurate term that people opposed to abortion used to describe a medically unproven protocol in which a high dose of progesterone is given after the patient takes the first medication.In December 2019, the journal Obstetrics & Gynecology published a new study addressing unproven claims of abortion reversal promoted by opponents of safe and legal abortion. This study was halted because womens lives were put at risk and it was deemed too dangerous, showing us again that the unproven claims made by those who oppose safe and legal abortion are medically unsound and should not be the basis of laws or medical practice. The study offers no evidence for the unsupported idea that taking progesterone will interrupt and medication abortion. Instead, it provides more evidence that the current twomedication protocol is what works best for patients, and that interrupting that protocol based on unproven claims by groups who oppose abortion may create a risk for patients.Forcing doctors and abortion providers to give their patients medically unfounded information is not only dangerous, its unethical. This bill inappropriately intrudes upon the vital physician/patient relationship and inserts politicians into peoples personal health care decisions. Planned Parenthood ensures all patients receive accurate information about all of their pregnancy options so they can make their own fully informed decisions about their health, their family and their future. HF 383 is deeply concerning and will put the health and safety of Iowans at risk. Politicians with no medical expertise should not be interfering in medical care and pushing health care providers to experiment on people seeking abortion care. By suggesting there is a way to reverse a medication abortion, physicians would be undermining the informed consent process, which should instead stress to patients that they must be certain before proceeding with the first step of the medication abortion process. For all of the reasons stated above, I urge you to vote against this dangerous measure and protect the health of Iowans and integrity of our health care system.

Attachment