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Planned Parenthood says Utah legislators may be trying to sneak a new abortion restriction into law by tucking it into a bill designed to expand telemedicine opportunities in rural areas.

Heather Stringfellow, vice president of Planned Parenthood of Utah, raised that question Friday in a hearing on HB340 before the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

She noted that four lines in the bill say anyone using telemedicine — such as talking to a doctor via video connection — "may not issue a prescription through electronic prescribing for a drug or treatment to cause an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, or if the life of the mother would be endangered without an abortion."

Stringfellow said, "It will pre-emptively cut off medicine for abortion for women in rural parts of our state. In other words, another whole abortion restriction has been tacked onto this telehealth reimbursement and payment legislation."

The bill's sponsor, Rep. Ken Ivory, R-West Jordan, was traveling out of state and unavailable to answer questions to the committee about that language.

The bill's Senate sponsor, Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, who presented the bill at the hearing, said it was his understanding the language reflects other state and federal law and rules, and simply puts similar wording into new telemedicine measures.

But Stringfellow said she "cannot find state or federal rules that currently restrict prescribing abortion medication through telemedicine."

So Stringfellow said if the wording is "intended to be a new abortion restriction that has the potential to impact women living in rural areas of the state," she asked that the language be taken out of HB340 and run as a separate bill to decide that issue directly.

"That's a fair question," said Committee Chairman Evan Vickers, R-Cedar City.

"We can certainly look into that as we go forward." But the language was not removed for now.

The committee approved the bill 4-0, and sent it to the full Senate.

The bill previously passed the House on a 59-11 vote.