Guam appeals telemedicine abortions ruling

Guam’s government is appealing a judge’s ruling that removed a barrier to women in the US territory accessing telemedicine abortions.

American Civil Liberties Union attorneys fighting for abortion access on Guam said the appeal is alarming because it comes as the island is grappling with the deadliest wave of the pandemic.

The Guam attorney general’s office and the Guam Medical Board of Examiners filed notice in court this week they are appealing a preliminary injunction that temporarily blocked a provision of Guam law that forced patients to have an in-person visit before abortion medication can be prescribed via telemedicine. The September ruling stemmed from a lawsuit by two Guam-licensed physicians who live in Hawaii and want to remotely supply medication abortions to Guam patients through telemedicine.

They took issue with the requirement that information about the procedure be given to patients in person.