Abortion Providers Continue Fight Against Guam’s Counseling Rule

Guam’s mandate that doctors present required pre-abortion counseling in person, rather than through teleconferencing, is unconstitutional, providers told a federal appeals court.

The requirement isn’t rationally related to legitimate state interests in ensuring pregnant people receive information that will enable them to make an informed choice about abortion, Shandhini Raidoo and Bliss Kaneshiro said.

The Guam-licensed, Hawaii-based doctors offered to provide abortion services to Guam residents because there are no doctors in the territory willing to do so. At the trial court, they won a preliminary injunction blocking the in-person rule. The territory is now challenging that decision in the ...