AXIOS May 14, 2024
Nearly one in five women seeking an abortion at the end of 2023 turned to telehealth for treatment, allowing them to circumvent state laws banning the procedure, according to a national report released Tuesday.
The big picture: Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, the volume of abortions has increased in part due to new state laws providing legal protections to clinicians who offer telehealth abortion care to patients in places with restrictions, according to the Society of Family Planning’s #WeCount report.
- Nearly half of all telehealth abortions provided between October to December were done under shield law protections, per #WeCount.
- Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, Washington and Vermont have all enacted shield laws to protect abortion providers.