The number of abortions in the U.S. continued to climb in 2024, driven in part by a dramatic increase in telemedicine access, especially in states that have enacted near-total bans on the procedure, according to a new report.
One in four abortions at the end of 2024 were reportedly conducted using abortion pills mailed to patients, compared to just 7% at the end of 2022, a new report by the Society of Family Planning found. Nearly half of those mail-order abortions were prescribed to women living in areas with abortion restrictions by doctors operating out of so-called “shield law” states such as New York and Massachusetts.
After Roe v. Wade was overturned in 2022, many blue states enacted shield laws to protect abortion providers from prosecution or extradition for violating other states’ abortion laws, allowing them to mail abortion pills into states where the procedure is banned. Twenty-two states and Washington, D.C. have some type of shield law on their books, and eight states have laws explicitly protecting providers if the patient is in a different state, according to UCLA Law.
By the end of 2024, an average of 12,330 abortions per month were provided under these laws, according to the report.
“This report presents further evidence of the abortion industry’s prioritization of the widespread distribution of abortion drugs over women’s health and safety,” Christina Francis, CEO of The American Association of Pro-Life Obstetricians and Gynecologists, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “We have not only seen women suffer and die from complications that could have been prevented by basic medical supervision, but also, we have seen women losing wanted pregnancies after being poisoned with these drugs by abusers. Mail-order abortion amounts to medical negligence, and laws preventing states from enforcing pro-life laws against this dangerous practice only perpetuate its harms to our patients — preborn babies and pregnant women.”
Underscoring the ease of purchasing abortion drugs, the DCNF recently obtained five sets of medication simply by completing online medical forms created by providers, without ever speaking to a physician or confirming a pregnancy.
Authorities in Texas and Louisiana have launched cases against a New York-based doctor accused of illegally prescribing abortion pills across state lines, including to a minor in Louisiana. Democrat New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has refused to comply with an extradition request related to the case, according to the Louisiana Illuminator.
Abortion advocates often emphasize the safety of abortion pills, likening them to commonly used medications like Tylenol. However, a recent peer-reviewed study by the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute found that no scientifically valid comparison between the widely used abortion drug mifepristone and Tylenol exists.
Another study of insurance data by the Ethics and Public Policy Center found that nearly 11% of patients experience a “serious adverse event” after taking the abortion pill — including hemorrhaging, sepsis, fallopian tube rupture or infection — compared to the 0.5% rate listed on the drug label.
In total, the report found that more than 1.14 million abortions were performed nationwide in 2024 — up from roughly 1.06 million in 2023 — despite more than 19 states enforcing strict abortion restrictions, including total bans.
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