The national monthly number of in-person abortions from January to March 2024 was about the same as in that period in 2023, meaning the increase was mostly driven by telehealth abortions, according to the report from the #WeCount project of the Society of Family Planning.
Telehealth abortions represent 20 percent of all abortions nationally, and shield laws have played a major role. Six states have enacted laws that provide legal protections to clinicians who offer telehealth abortion care to people in states that have abortion or telehealth bans.
In the nine months from July 2023 to March 2024, more than 65,000 people in states with total bans, six-week bans or telehealth restrictions have accessed medication abortion provided under shield laws, the report found.
The report noted that in January of this year the number of monthly total of abortions exceeded 100,000 for the first since #WeCount began in April 2022.
“Even as we see the increase in abortion volume nationally, the burden on an individual living in a state with an abortion ban is enormous, especially if they need in-person abortion care,” said Alison Norris, #WeCount Co-Chair.
The survey found that the number of in-person abortions fell to nearly zero in the 14 states that ban abortion in all stages of pregnancy.
The report comes ahead of the November elections, in which Democrats across the country are campaigning on abortion rights, and some voters in red and blue states alike will have the opportunity to enshrine state-level abortion protections.
