In the first half of 2025, fewer individuals traveled across state borders to obtain abortions, reflecting a decline in clinic visits since the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in 2022.
However, recent reports from the Guttmacher Institute and other reproductive rights organizations indicate that this data is only a partial view of the current abortion landscape in the U.S.
The statistics reveal an 8% drop in patients going to legal abortion clinics in other states. Yet, this doesn’t fully capture the growing dependence on telehealth for accessing abortion medications.
Last year, I was involved in the transition to telehealth for abortion services in Tennessee.
According to Guttmacher’s data, 10,020 residents from Tennessee traveled out of state for abortions in 2024. Interestingly, 5,840 of those patients managed to end their pregnancies through telehealth consultations. When combining surgical and medical abortions, the total number of procedures performed in Tennessee in 2024 surpassed levels seen prior to the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision that had led to an abortion ban in the state.
Women in Tennessee are increasingly seeking abortions from organizations like the Massachusetts Medication Abortion Access Project, a telehealth service established two years ago to provide care nationwide.
They serve between 50 and 75 patients from Tennessee each month, according to co-founder Dr. Angel Foster. “Our patients resemble those who were accessing clinical services in the state prior to the Dobbs ruling,” she noted. “Financial challenges often play a key role in their decisions. We frequently hear from women in unstable or abusive situations, as well as college students who are just starting their careers.”
This project operates under Massachusetts’ protective laws, which allow FDA-approved abortion medications to be prescribed and mailed across the country, while also shielding organizations and their healthcare providers from prosecution in other states.
Many patients from Tennessee often already have multiple children, Dr. Foster added.
To date, the Supreme Court’s decisions have affected 22 states and the District of Columbia. Since the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the so-called Shield Act has expanded access to telehealth abortion appointments, typically allowing prescriptions up to 10 weeks into pregnancy.
However, the increased availability of abortion medications has triggered pushback from attorneys general in Republican-led states like Tennessee, where laws prevent mailing or prescribing abortion pills.
Earlier this month, Health and Human Services Director Robert F. Kennedy Jr. mentioned the FDA’s safety review of Mifepristone, a key abortion drug, raising concerns among abortion rights advocates about potential government actions restricting healthcare access.
Dr. Ushma Upadhyay from the University of California, San Francisco, commented on this complex situation, noting the ongoing challenges in the current political landscape.
The Guttmacher report also highlights that the notable decrease in out-of-state abortion travel is primarily occurring in states that have instituted six-week abortion bans.
Before South Carolina’s six-week ban went into effect in August 2023, it was among the states where about 100 Tennessee residents sought abortions that year.
According to Guttmacher data, Tennesseans have dramatically reduced their abortion-seeking behaviors within their own state following the implementation of South Carolina’s ban.
