Thousands of women who live in states with strict abortion laws following the overturning of Roe v. Wade received abortion pills in the mail from states that have laws protecting those who prescribe them, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Society of Family Planning. 


What You Need To Know

  • Thousands of women who live in states with strict abortion laws following the overturning of Roe v. Wade received abortion pills in the mail from states that have laws protecting those who prescribe them, according to a report released on Tuesday by the Society of Family Planning
  • Tuesday’s release of the #WeCount survey shows about 8,000 women a month in states that severely restrict abortion or place limits on having one through telehealth were getting the pills by mail by the end of 2023
  • Including states without strict abortion laws, telehealth abortions accounted for nearly one in five abortions in the U.S. over the last three months of 2023, according to the report
  • Overall, it found the number of abortion rose in 2023 compared to the year before

Tuesday’s release of the #WeCount survey shows about 8,000 women a month in states that severely restrict abortion or place limits on having one through telehealth were getting the pills by mail by the end of 2023, the first time a number has been put on how often the medical system workaround is being used.

Including states without strict abortion laws, telehealth abortions accounted for nearly one in five abortions in the U.S. over the last three months of 2023, according to the report.

Medication abortions typically involve a combination two drugs: mifepristone and misoprostol. 

Multiple states have enacted shield laws, which intend to protect people in their states from investigations involving abortion-related crimes by authorities in other states. By the end of last year, five of those states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Washington — had such protections in place specifically to cover abortion pill prescriptions by telemedicine.

The report looked at abortions in the U.S. in the 18 months since the Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade in June 2022, which returned the issue of whether and how much to restrict abortions to states, and paved the way for restrictions and bans on the practice in states across the country.  

After Roe’s reversal, abortion bans took effect in most Republican-controlled states. Fourteen states now prohibit it with few exceptions, while three others bar it after about six weeks of pregnancy.

Overall, it found the number of abortion rose in 2023 compared to the year before. At the same time, the report estimates that about 145,000 more in-person abortions would have taken place in the 14 states with few exceptions if Roe were not overturned. 

The states with the greatest declines in the number of abortions since Roe’s overturning included Texas, Georgia, Tennessee, Louisiana and Alabama. 

Meanwhile, the states with the largest increases in the number of abortions that occurred in the 18 months after the Supreme Court decision were California, Illinois and Florida. The report noted Florida being one of those states is particularly significant as a six week ban just took effect two weeks ago, after the survey was conducted.