Telehealth key factor in rising abortions post-Dobbs

Telehealth played a key role in the rise in abortions in 2024, with telehealth abortions accounting for one in four abortions by the fourth quarter of the year, according to a new report.

Published by the Society of Family Planning, the latest #WeCount report shows that the monthly number of abortions has increased gradually nationwide since 2022. The report presents monthly abortion volume data by state to assess the effects of the Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, which ended the constitutional right to abortion in June 2024. #WeCount data includes clinician-provided abortions, both medication and procedural abortions, completed in a clinic, private medical office, hospital or virtual-only clinic.

Despite growing restrictions on abortion access since the Dobbs decision, the new report reveals that 1.14 million abortions occurred in 2024, with the monthly average number of abortions increasing from 79,600 in 2022 to 95,200 in 2024.

Telehealth abortions appear to be driving the increase. The report shows that even though the majority of abortions are still provided in person, the number of in-person abortions has decreased slightly since 2022, while telehealth abortions have grown. The proportion of abortions provided via telehealth rose over time from 5% in 2022 to 25% by the end of 2024.

Additionally, abortions provided by virtual-only clinics in states that permit abortion and telehealth abortion have grown since 2022. Meanwhile, telehealth abortions provided by brick-and-mortar clinics remained steady, and telehealth abortions provided in states with telehealth restrictions remained relatively constant.

The report further shows that shield laws have been critical to the rise in telehealth abortions. Shield laws protect healthcare providers and other individuals supporting abortion care in states where abortions are restricted or banned. In these cases, individuals typically mail medication abortion pills to people in states with telehealth restrictions, six-week bans or total abortion bans.

About half of the telehealth abortions in 2024 were provided under shield laws. In states where abortion was permitted but telehealth was restricted, 16% of abortions were provided via telehealth monthly. In states with 6-week bans, that figure rose to 28%, and in states where abortion was totally banned, the figure jumped to over 99%.

Though telehealth abortions are considered generally safe and effective, anti-abortion activists and state governments have tried to severely restrict access to the drugs that make medication abortions via telehealth possible. However, in June 2024, the Supreme Court of the United States rejected a lawsuit that challenged the FDA's regulatory authority regarding mifepristone distribution, allowing virtual access to the abortion drug.

Anuja Vaidya has covered the healthcare industry since 2012. She currently covers the virtual healthcare landscape, including telehealth, remote patient monitoring and digital therapeutics.