Post-Dobbs abortions continue to increase: Report

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April Rubin

The number of abortions in the U.S. continued to rise in 2024 — totaling 1.14 million — despite years of bans and restrictions on reproductive care, according to a national report released on Monday.

"Drivers of these trends are unclear, especially in the context of multiple changes in the service delivery environment," the #WeCount report from the Society of Family Planning nonprofit said.

Zoom in: While in-person abortion care declined slightly, the majority of abortions still occurred in person.

The number of abortions delivered via telehealth has increased since 2022. Expanded telehealth access to medication abortion has allowed patients to circumvent state laws banning the procedure.

State of play: Shield laws provide legal protections to clinicians who offer telehealth abortion care to patients in states with restrictions.

An average of 12,330 abortions per month were provided under shield laws by the end of 2024, per #WeCount.

Half of abortions provided via telehealth in 2024 were facilitated by shield laws.

By the numbers: U.S. abortions totaled 1.14 million in 2024, the largest number in recent years.

The monthly average number of abortion increased each year since 2022.

By the end of 2024, 25% of abortions were provided via telehealth, a sizable increase from 5% in the second quarter of 2022.

What they're saying: "Anti-abortion extremists are using junk science and now turning their attacks toward telehealth, trying to dismantle a lifeline for people in ban states by attempting to roll back access," #WeCount co-chair Ushma Upadhyay said in a statement.

"By providing safe, affordable medication abortion via telemedicine, we make sure people can get the care they need—no matter where they live or what they can afford," Angel Foster, Co-Founder of the Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project, said.

(http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=5742223&forum_id=2#49042646)