In 2024, the United States witnessed an increase in the number of abortions, as women managed to access these services despite restrictive laws in numerous states. This uptick in abortions was noted in a report from the WeCount project under the Society of Family Planning, which advocates for abortion access. This report emerges just a day before the third anniversary of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, which had guaranteed nearly five decades of legal abortion for most of pregnancy across the nation.
A total of 12 states are currently imposing bans on abortions throughout all stages of pregnancy, with only minimal exceptions. In addition, four states have implemented bans effective around six weeks into pregnancy, often before women realize they are expecting. Although the total number of abortions has seen a gradual increase over the past three years, there has been a significant decrease to near zero in particular states. Meanwhile, the use of abortion pills through telehealth appointments has gained prominence across nearly all states.
Abortion pills now play a crucial role, being employed in the majority of abortion cases, both through in-person and telehealth-prescribed means. While the overall number of abortions has grown, it remains below the historical highs. In the most recent survey, approximately 1.1 million abortions were reported nationally last year, equating to roughly 95,000 per month. This marks an increase from the 88,000 monthly abortions in 2023 and 80,000 monthly between April and December 2022. Notably, WeCount, formed post-Roe annulment, did not account for the January to March 2022 period, typically a peak time for abortions. Nevertheless, these numbers fall short of the historic yearly peak of nearly 1.6 million abortions seen in the late 1990s.
The Society of Family Planning primarily collects its data from abortion provider surveys and utilizes estimates. A significant finding from WeCount reveals that prior to the Dobbs ruling, around 1 in 20 abortions occurred via telehealth. However, by the end of 2024, this figure rose to 1 in 4. The most pronounced increase occurred in mid-2023, as some states under Democratic leadership enacted laws safeguarding medical professionals who prescribe abortion pills via telehealth in states where abortion is either heavily restricted or outright banned.
Approximately half of the telehealth abortions last year were facilitated by these shield laws. There was also a notable rise in telehealth abortions in states without such bans. WeCount remains the sole nationwide public source providing information on pills prescribed to women in banned states, although it is uncertain how many prescriptions lead to actual abortions. Some women may change their decision, seek in-person abortions, or acquire pills for future use.
WeCount’s data could shed light on findings from a separate Guttmacher Institute survey, which reported a decline in individuals traveling across state lines for abortions last year. Meanwhile, anti-abortion efforts are increasingly targeting medication abortion methods, alongside attempts to restrict federal funding for Planned Parenthood and reverse ballot measures that support abortion rights. Three states have initiated lawsuits seeking to curb telehealth prescriptions of mifepristone, a common drug used in medication abortions. However, the previous administration expressed its belief last month that these states lack the legal standing to pursue this case.
The U.S. Supreme Court has also ruled that anti-abortion physicians and their affiliated organizations lack the standing for similar cases. In other developments, officials in Louisiana are leveraging criminal laws, and there is an initiative in Texas to apply civil penalties against a New York physician accused of prescribing abortion pills to women in those states. Additionally, Louisiana legislators have forwarded a bill to the governor aiming to further limit access to these pills.
Marjorie Dannenfelser, President of SBA Pro-Life America, highlighted the organization’s priority to advocate for U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other authorities to scrutinize the safety of abortion pills. They are pushing for these pills to be dispensed only in person, reflecting the ongoing debate surrounding abortion rights and access in the U.S.