The latest #WeCount report finds that access is shifting—not disappearing—as patients turn to telehealth and shield-law providers.
Despite many states imposing sweeping abortion bans after Dobbs, more Americans are having abortions, not fewer, according to the Society of Family Planning’s latest #WeCount report.
The monthly average number of abortions inside the medical system climbed from 79,600 in 2022 (April to December only), to 88,200 per month in 2023, to 95,300 in 2024, to 98,800 per month on average in the first six months of 2025.
“Abortion bans don’t stop people from needing and pursuing essential abortion care,” said Alison Norris, M.D., Ph.D., professor at The Ohio State University’s College of Public Health and co-principal investigator of the Ohio Policy Evaluation Network and Society of Family Planning #WeCount co-chair.
… Virtual consultations and prompt delivery of pills by mail allow women in all 50 states to access abortion care from the privacy of their homes for $150 or less …
The #WeCount report revealed that telehealth abortion is a critically important avenue of access to abortion, increasing to 27 percent of all abortions within the U.S. healthcare system in the first six months of 2025.
Since the FDA first allowed telehealth abortion in 2021, the share of abortions done via telehealth has increased from 5 percent in the first quarter of 2022, to 20 percent in 2023, to 25 percent in 2024, to 27 percent in the first half of 2025.
States permitting telehealth saw its use vary widely—from 8 percent in D.C. to 39 percent in Delaware between January to June 2025.
Before telehealth abortion, patients often traveled hundreds of miles to brick-and-mortar clinics, braved gauntlets of protesters and paid on average $560 for medication abortion. Today, virtual consultations and prompt delivery of pills by mail allow women in all 50 states to access abortion care from the privacy of their homes for $150 or less because many providers offer the service for a sliding scale fee.
Telehealth abortion has become a critical avenue of access for women living in states with gestational bans or other restrictions. In eight states, shield laws allow telehealth abortion providers to serve patients located in states banning or restricting clinicians inside their borders from providing abortion services. By June 2025, 55 percent of all telehealth abortions were provided under shield laws.
“People who live in states where abortion is banned are finding safe, affordable, FDA-approved medication abortion care through telemedicine, and websites such as PlanCPills.org are connecting them with that care,” said Elisa Wells, co-founder and access director at Plan C.
Plan C lists six shield state providers serving restrictive states: Abuzz, Aid Access, Choice Rising, The MAP, A Safe Choice and We Take Care of Us. These services offer abortion pills for $150 or less, with delivery in a week or less.
By June 2025, telehealth abortion providers operating in shield states were serving 14,770 women living in states with bans or restrictions, up from 9,180 in June 2024—a 61 percent increase in just one year.
In states banning abortion entirely, nearly all clinician-provided abortions were done via telehealth under shield laws.
In states that allow abortion but restrict telehealth, the share of abortions provided via telehealth under shield laws varies widely.
- In North Carolina, which bans abortion at 12 weeks, 18 percent of abortions are done by telehealth from shield state providers.
- In South Carolina, which bans abortion at 12 weeks, 68 percent of abortions are done by telehealth with shield state providers.
“Telehealth has become a lifeline for people accessing abortion care, especially those in states with abortion bans,” said Ushma Upadhyay, Ph.D., MPH, professor at the University of California, San Francisco’s Advancing New Standards in Reproductive Health (ANSIRH) and Society of Family Planning #WeCount co-chair.
Despite these increases, Upadhyay warned that unwarranted attacks on telehealth abortion may restrict access in the future. “This care is under assault by abortion opponents’ relentless attacks on mifepristone and telehealth—even though medication abortion is backed by a 25-year track record of safety and gold-standard science, and research shows that telehealth abortion is just as safe and effective as in-person care.”
The #WeCount data does not count abortions obtained through international telehealth providers, community networks in restrictive states or online vendors of abortion pills.
Two international telehealth providers—Women on Web and Abortion Pills in Private—are serving nearly one thousand patients each month, who mostly live in states with bans and restrictions. These services charge $120 or less with three to six day delivery.
In restrictive states, community groups affiliated with Red State Access are sharing free abortion pills at all-gestations with accompaniment. Another network, DASH, shares free abortion pills with women living in Texas, Florida and Puerto Rico. Since Dobbs, community groups have shared free pills with tens of thousands of women.
Women are also obtaining abortion pills online for as little as $50 and delivered within a week.
… Medication abortion is backed by a 25-year track record of safety and gold-standard science, and research shows that telehealth abortion is just as safe and effective as in-person care.
Ushma Upadhyay
A number of factors are likely contributing to increased demand for abortion, including reduced access to contraception in states banning abortion resulting in more unwanted pregnancies; the increasing medical dangers of carrying pregnancies to term in states without health exceptions for emergency care; the increased criminalization of pregnant women post-Dobbs, which discourages women from carrying pregnancies to term; and the deterioration of social safety net programs that enable women to afford to bring pregnancies to term.
“Access to abortion is evolving with the modern technologies of abortion pills and telemedicine, and patients and providers are embracing this new form of access,” said Wells. “Medication abortion through telehealth is a safe, effective, and convenient option, especially for people living in a state with an abortion ban.”
