Press Room

March 15, 2012

Contact: Contact: Virginia Zignego, Communications Director, (262) 796-1111, cell (262) 370-3993 or

Matt Sande, Director of Legislation, cell (262) 352-0890

State Assembly bans “webcam” abortions

A bill banning so-called webcam abortions passed the State Assembly on a 60 to 33 vote on Thursday. Senate Bill 306, authored by Senator Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) and co-authored by Representative Michelle Litjens (R-Oshkosh), already passed the State Senate and now moves to Governor Walker’s desk for his expected signature.

Currently, abortion-causing drugs such as mifepristone, also known as RU-486, can be automatically prescribed and dispensed via videoconferencing. The legislation effectively prohibits webcam abortions by requiring the prescribing physician to perform a physical exam of the woman and to be physically present in the room when the abortion-inducing drug is given. The bill also requires the woman to return to the abortion facility for a follow-up visit 12 to 18 days after the use of an abortion-inducing drug to confirm the termination of the pregnancy and evaluate her medical condition.

“When a woman is facing an unplanned pregnancy, the reckless use of a toxic abortion drug is the last thing she needs,” said Matt Sande, legislative director for Pro-Life Wisconsin. “The average woman loses four times the amount of blood in a drug-induced medical abortion as compared to a standard surgical abortion. Several deaths have been attributed to mifepristone and therefore its prescription and use ought to be highly restricted, if not banned.”

In 2010, Pro-Life Wisconsin warned of the likelihood of RU-486 web cam abortions in Wisconsin and the health dangers of mifepristone. We reported that Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin dispenses birth control, which can act as an abortifacient, via teleconferencing. At the time, video phones, which are the size of a laptop computer, were at 10 Planned Parenthood locations, chosen because they are the organization’s Title X family planning clinics and receive funding from the federal government.

“Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has the videoconference infrastructure in place to dispense mifepristone,” said Virginia Zignego, communications director for Pro-Life Wisconsin. “Senate Bill 306 closes the door on the real possibility of RU-486 abortions in our state. We thank Senator Lazich and Representative Litjens for their vision in introducing this preemptive legislation.”

The Food and Drug Administration released public documents to Concerned Women of America listing over 600 adverse effects of women taking mifepristone. These included 220 cases of hemorrhage that were either life-threatening or extremely serious, 71 of which required blood transfusions. Women taking mifepristone typically bleed for one to two weeks, with 10% bleeding for more than one month.

Pro-Life Wisconsin applauds the Wisconsin Legislature for banning webcam abortions and we look forward to Governor Walker’s signature of this timely legislation.