Abortions up nationally, largely due to telehealth
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The number of abortions performed in the U.S. continued to climb in 2024, increasing 11% in April to June this year, compared to the same period last year, according to a national report released Tuesday.
The big picture: In the first half of the year, there were nearly 98,000 abortions per month on average — up from 88,000 on average in 2023 and 81,400 in 2022, per the quarterly #WeCount report from the Society of Family Planning nonprofit.
- The increase is due, in part, to expanding telehealth access to medication abortion, which has allowed patients to circumvent state laws banning the procedure.
State of play: While in-person abortion care makes up about 80% of all abortions, it's been hit the hardest by state-level abortion bans.
- Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade's federal abortion protections in 2022, providers have started offering more medication abortion via telehealth under shield law protections to patients in places with restrictions.
- By the second quarter of 2024, telehealth access to medication abortion made up 20% of abortion care, up from 4% during the same period in 2022, according to the report.
By the numbers: There was a 145% increase in all abortions provided via telehealth, from 24,640 in the second quarter of 2023 to 60,270 during the same period this year.
- Excluding abortions provided under shield laws, there was still a 26% increase in telehealth abortions.
What they're saying: "In this heavily restricted abortion care environment, medication abortion provided via telehealth under shield laws is making a significant contribution to abortion access," said Ushma Upadhyay, co-chair of #WeCount and professor at the University of California, San Francisco.
- "Despite abortion opponents' continued efforts to ban safe, effective abortion care, providers, advocates, and abortion funds all continue to innovate new ways to help people access the abortion care they need," she added.
Go deeper: Abortions exceed pre-Roe numbers as telehealth access grows
