LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) — Despite more than a dozen states outlawing abortion in nearly all cases, the number of abortions in the U.S. continued to climb in 2024—fueled in large part by pills delivered through telehealth.

The national count: 1.1 million abortions in 2024.

A new report from the Society of Family Planning’s WeCount project—released just ahead of the third anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision—counted 1.1 million abortions nationwide last year, with one in four now taking place through virtual consultations and mail-order drugs.

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That’s a fivefold increase in telehealth abortions compared to pre-Dobbs estimates, when roughly one in 20 abortions used that route, according to The Associated Press. 

In fact, WeCount estimates the current pace at roughly 95,000 abortions a month—more than any year since Roe’s reversal in June 2022, but still well below the late-1990s peak of 1.6 million annually.

Pills fill the gap in states with abortion limits.

In states where abortion is heavily restricted—12 with full bans and four more with six-week limits—brick-and-mortar clinics have largely shut down. But pills are filling the gap. Half of all telehealth abortions reported last year were made possible by “shield laws” in states like California and New York, which legally protect providers prescribing across state lines.

Even in states where abortion remains legal, more women are turning to telehealth—drawn by the convenience of virtual care and concerns about shifting legal landscapes. The data helps explain a separate finding from the Guttmacher Institute: fewer women are traveling across state lines for in-person procedures.

Pill pushback.

Opponents of abortion, meanwhile, are increasingly targeting the pills. Several states are pushing lawsuits to block mifepristone prescriptions by mail, while Louisiana and Texas have explored criminal and civil penalties for out-of-state doctors.

Federal courts have so far thrown out most of those challenges for lack of standing, but legal battles over medication abortion and remote access are far from over.

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WeCount, which tracks monthly abortion totals through provider surveys, did note one caveat: not every mailed pill results in an abortion. Some women may change their minds or hold on to the drugs for later use. 

Still, the findings point to a shift in how abortions are accessed—suggesting the battleground is no longer just geography, but technology.