William Petroski

bpetrosk@dmreg.com

Two of Gov. Terry Branstad's appointees to the Iowa Board of Medicine failed to win reconfirmation Wednesday from the Iowa Senate because of their past support for a ban on telemedicine abortions.

Board Chair Diane Clark, a public member from Lake Mills, and Dr. Hamed Tewfik, a physician from Iowa City, each needed two-thirds support in the 50-member Senate. That meant they required 34 yes votes to be reconfirmed. Each received 32 votes in favor of reconfirmation, with 18 Democrats voting against them.

Sen. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, urged her colleagues to reject Clark and Tewfik, citing the Board of Medicine's vote in 2013 to prohibit women from having access to telemedicine abortions.

Doctors use the system to communicate with patients and view sonogram results via closed-circuit video. If they decide a woman is eligible for an early term abortion, the doctors enter a computer command that opens a drawer in front of the patient.

The woman reaches into the drawer, removes the pills and takes the first one while the doctor watches via video. The woman then goes home, takes the remaining pills and has what amounts to an induced miscarriage.

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled in 2015 that the board's rules prohibiting telemedicine abortions were unconstitutional. Petersen read from the court's ruling in explaining why the Senate should turn down both Clark and Tewfik for additional terms on the Board of Medicine.

"Today, I encourage my colleagues to support the constitutional rights of Iowa women. I encourage my colleagues to support safe medical care, not politics," Petersen said.

Branstad spokesman Ben Hammes issued a statement expressing disappointment after the Senate vote. "It's really unfortunate that two highly qualified individuals, who volunteered their time to serving Iowans, are prohibited from serving another term on the Board of Medicine because Senate Democrats wish to play the worst kind of petty partisan politics," he said.

Republican senators tried to come to the defense of both appointees, saying they were highly qualified and committed to quality medical care.

Sen. Roby Smith, R-Davenport, described Clark, a retired physician services administrator, as a grandmother with a "heart of gold." He said her vote against telemedicine abortions was shaped by her own experience of having a miscarriage while she was at home alone and three months pregnant.

Sen. Randy Feenstra, R-Hull, told of how Tewfik, a radiation oncologist, came to the United States from Egypt in 1970 and eventually settled in Iowa. "He loves Iowans and he is asking to serve just three more years," the senator said.

Feenstra also suggested Democrats were taking down an immigrant because Tewfik didn't support their liberal agenda, which prompted Petersen to tell Feenstra he was out of line.

Petersen remarked, "This is the Board of Medicine. This is not Gov. Branstad and Lt. Gov. Kim Reynolds' board that they stack with people who won't support a legal medical procedure."

Petersen noted that the Supreme Court's decision found that the Board of Medicine's rule would have placed an undue burden on women by requiring a doctor's physical presence.

The court said: "While undoubtedly at an abstract level everyone would prefer to see a doctor in person every time they have a medical issue, the reality of modern medicine is otherwise. In this case, the record indicates the physician plays an important role in reviewing the ultrasound images and dispensing the prescribed medications, but those roles can be performed without the physician being personally present."