A Not So Unexpected Loss In the Battle Against Telemed Abortions, But Also a Victory

The loss is the recent announcement that the Iowa Board of Medicine has closed the complaint against against Planned Parenthood abortionist Susan Haskell by operation Rescue without disciplining her. The Des Moines Register reported that the IBOM sent a letter to Operation Rescue this week saying it would not sanction Haskell but it did not explain its reasoning, which is customary with IBOM decisions.

The board’s executive director, Mark Bowden said in the letter “Although this may not be the outcome you were seeking, you can be assured that your complaint was investigated and the board reached its decision after full review of the investigative record."

Operation Rescue Senior Policy Advisor Cheryl Sullenger, who was the complainant on the case, had the following to say about the outcome: “This decision has done nothing to alleviate our concerns about the legality of this push-button abortion pill scheme that denies women access to physical examinations by licensed physicians and leaves them to deal with the painful multi-day abortion process at home without access to a licensed physician in the event of emergencies.”

She went on to add “The politics of abortion are trumping the law and health and safety concerns for vulnerable women in Iowa. Operation Rescue is calling for the resignation of Mark Bowden over this scandalous disregard for the law and women’s lives.”

Interestingly, at the same time PP dropped a lawsuit against Sullenger that was started because she requested public records for for of PP's employees. Suits against 2 other groups that made similar requests have been dropped as well.

That lawsuit was started after Kent Nebel of the IBOM tipped PP off. According to Sullenger “Mr. Nebel told me personally that he was instructed by the Attorney General’s office to inform Planned Parenthood of the public records requests. There is nothing we can see in Iowa law that would mandate such notification.”

“It looks to us like Planned Parenthood still has a lot to hide. They were so afraid of the discovery phase in the law suits that they apparently decided it was better to allow the Iowa Board of Medicine to release the public information rather than allow us to ask them questions they did not want to answer,” said Sullenger. “We are still very concerned about the cozy relationships that exist between the Iowa Attorney General’s office, the Iowa Board of Medicine and Planned Parenthood.”

As I previously reported, AG Miller is currently under an ethics investigation for his part in blocking independent investigations into alleged criminal abortions conducted by Planned Parenthood of the Heartland through their webcam abortion scheme.

About the release of the documents she said “While all the documents were heavily redacted – more so than we usually see with these kinds of records – we are grateful to our legal team, including Tom Brejcha of the Thomas More Society and Iowa attorney Mike Holzworth for working so hard to ensure that Planned Parenthood did not wrongfully conceal information that the public has a right to know. This is a victory for everyone because it helps keep the government accountable to the people.”

I agree, PP probably realized they would have to tell more than they wanted had the suit proceeded. & it makes Miller's actions look all the more suspicious as well. But the mere fact that PP was forced to allow even a little light to shine on them is a victory since they prefer to keep things in the dark as much as possible. & who knows what that light may end up revealing, despite the unusually heavy redacting?

Yes, the IBOM refusing to uphold the law is a loss. But it wasn't unexpected given the whole way the investigation was handled. It means that PP can move ahead with its plans to expand telemed abortions to DBQ. & despite their recent claims to the contrary that nothing is in the works, you can be sure that they will be soon announcing their immanent addtion of DBQ as a site.

Hopefully something can be gotten through the Iowa Legislature to stop telemed abortions. This may be difficult as the Senate is still controlled by the Democrats. Difficult, but not impossible. But if the legislature does pass a law, Gov. Branstad is sure to sign it.

What lies ahead with Miller is another matter. Hopefully some justice will be done & he will be punished for what were clearly unethical actions on his part. Actions aimed at helping PP cover up & avoid an investigation it clearly didn't want because of what it might uncover.

I still have trouble at times believing that this is happenning in Iowa. This is not the state I grew up in. Miller's actions are dispicable. & a total betrayal of the Iowa values I was raised on. But then PP's values aren't exactly Iowa's either. Miller was raised a Catholic & from what I have been told, it would break his late mother's heart to see how he has turned so against the way she raised him. Before 1990, he presented himself as Pro-life. But when he decided to run that year for the nomination for governor on the Democratic ticket, he switched & announced he was "pro-choice", thus coming out as being pro-abortion.

Sadly, too many Iowans have also bought into the "culture of death" PP is promoting. The good news is, they are not being given a free pass to do so. There are plenty of us who are standing up & saying we are not going to let this happen to our beloved state. We don't want to be the place that started telemed abortions. We want to be the place that put an end to that horrific practice.

Additional Sources: Iowa Medical Board Closes Investigation of Planned Parenthood Telemed Abortionist

Planned Parenthood Backs Down, Withdraws Suit Against Operation Rescue For Requesting Public Records

Iowa Medical Board Won’t Punish Doctor in Telemed Abortions

Planned Parenthood backs down on lawsuit against pro-life group