From April to June, the number of abortions performed in the United States rose 11% compared to the same time period last year, according to a new report released on Tuesday.
According to the quarterly #WeCount report from the Society of Family Planning, there were nearly 98,000 abortions per month on average in the first half of 2024, which is up from the 88,000 per month average in 2023 and the 81,400 average in 2022.
That increase is largely driven by expanded telehealth access to medication abortion, which has allowed patients to skirt state prohibitions on the procedure.
"In this heavily restricted abortion care environment, medication abortion provided via telehealth under shield laws is making a significant contribution to abortion access," Ushma Upadhyay, co-chair of #WeCount and professor at the University of California, San Francisco, said in a release.
"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.
In-person abortions comprise 80% of all abortions, but such care has become difficult to access when confronted by state-level abortion bans.
The popularity of medication abortions via telehealth under shield laws has skyrocketed in places with restrictions since the Supreme Court reversed the federal abortion protections established by Roe v. Wade in 2022.
According to the report, 20% of abortions by the second quarter of 2024 were medication abortions via telehealth; during the same time period in 2022, medication abortions via telehealth made up 4% of total abortions.
In the second quarter of 2023, there were 24,640 telehealth-enabled abortions. During the same time period this year, there were 60,270 – a 145% increase.
Not counting the abortions performed under shield laws, there was a 26% increase in the number of abortions provided via telehealth.
Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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