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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) — New Mexico's board of nursing is investigating a complaint that a Planned Parenthood nurse prescribed an abortion drug in violation of state law.
The complaint says the nurse practitioner who prescribed the abortion medication violated the law that stipulates licensed physicians alone can perform abortions, the Albuquerque Journal reported (http://bit.ly/1Stu4SK ).
Planned Parenthood spokeswoman Whitney Phillips said in a written statement that nurse practitioners are not performing surgical abortions.
The statement references a 2007 lawsuit ruling that said nurse practitioners who prescribe the abortion drug mifepristone do not violate the state criminal abortion law.
Attorney Angelo Artuso filed the complaint April 6 alongside Protest ABQ, and says a district court order is not precedent.
Artuso said Planned Parenthood officials "believe they have cover, but it doesn't mean that the Board of Nursing isn't going to investigate and find that it is contrary to the licensing regulations."
Carmen Feldman, general counsel for Planned Parenthood of New Mexico, said "the current complaint before the state Board of Nursing is yet another baseless attack by a group dedicated to outlawing safe and legal abortion, and is intended to intimidate and harass providers."
Last month, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration issued new labeling guidelines for mifepristone that gave women 70 days from the start of their last period to begin the medication.
The previous timeline was 49 days.
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Information from: Albuquerque Journal, http://www.abqjournal.com
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