Abortions exceed pre-Roe numbers as telehealth access grows
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The number of women getting abortions in the U.S. continued to climb in early 2024, surpassing the number of abortions performed before Roe v. Wade was overturned, according to a national report released Wednesday.
The big picture: The increase is partly driven by access to abortions via telehealth, which allows patients to circumvent state laws banning the procedure, according to a quarterly #WeCount report from the Society of Family Planning nonprofit.
- After the Supreme Court overturned Roe, providers started offering medication abortion via telehealth under shield law protections.
- Abortions provided via telehealth rose to 20% of all abortions in the first quarter of 2024, per the report. That's about 19,700 telehealth abortions per month.
By the numbers: In January, the national monthly total of abortions exceeded 100,000 for the first time since the #WeCount reporting effort began tracking abortion volume in April 2022.
- There were between 94,670 and 102,350 abortions monthly between January and March 2024, with a monthly average of 98,990, per the report.
Zoom in: The states with the largest average number of abortions per month in that period included California, New York, Illinois, Florida and New Jersey.
- Since then, Florida instated a six-week abortion ban — one of the strictest limits in the nation. The new law that took effect in May dramatically changed Florida's role as a post-Roe refuge for people seeking care in the larger U.S. South.
- But Florida and a handful of other states have successfully, or are aiming to, put abortion on the ballot for voters in November — a winning issue for Democrats in the post-Roe era.
Zoom out: 14 states have laws in effect banning nearly all abortions, while other states vary on the gestational limits.
- Still, between July 2023 and March 2024, more than 65,000 people in states with telehealth restrictions, total abortion bans or six-week bans accessed medication abortion provided under shield laws, per the report.
What they're saying: "Telehealth abortion is making a critical difference for people seeking abortion care in this increasingly restrictive environment," said Ushma Upadhyay, co-chair of #WeCount and professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
- "Telehealth also eases the surges and cuts down on wait times at abortion clinics providing in-person abortion care, which continues to be a critical route to abortion access, accounting for 80% of all abortions," Upadhyay added.
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