Vermont senators, physicians urge passage of S.28 to expand telemedicine abortion access and shield providers' contact information

Senator Ginny Lyons, chair of the Vermont Senate Health & Welfare Committee, and other committee members convened a public briefing where physicians described how S.28 would change telemedicine abortion care and protect providers from third‑party intrusion.

The panel focused on two provisions in S.28: allowing providers to prescribe medication abortion after a standardized questionnaire (rather than requiring a prior in‑person or video visit) and removing practitioners’ private telephone numbers and addresses from broadly accessible public listings. The senators said the bill has cleared the Senate Health & Welfare Committee and been sent to the House for further consideration.

The discussion matters because speakers said the changes would expand access to evidence‑based medication abortion care while reducing risks to clinicians. “These pills are really safe,” said Dr. Linda Prine, professor of family and community medicine at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and co‑founder of the Reproductive Health Access Project. Prine described decades of research on mifepristone and misoprostol and said remote protocols have proven safe in clinical studies and during the pandemic when mailing became necessary.

Dr. Renee Johansen, an OB‑GYN and clinical assistant professor at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine who founded a telehealth clinic providing medication abortion under state shield laws, told the committee the questionnaire workflow is designed to screen for contraindications and…