A second report says 'elevated' abortions due to mail-order pills and 'shield laws'

Despite the fact that the federal Comstock Act already restricts the shipment or mailing of “abortifacient matter through express companies, common carriers, or interactive computer services,” abortion pills are being shipped across the country and flooding into states that restrict abortion — while so-called "shield laws" in pro-abortion states protect those who ignore pro-life laws.

The Society of Family Planning (SFP), a pro-abortion organization that publishes #WeCount abortion data, estimates that 1.13 million abortions took place in calendar year 2025. In a June 2026 press release, SFP stated, "Abortions remain elevated, driven by telehealth and shield law provision telehealth," which "accounted for 29% of abortion care in the U.S. by the end of 2025."

Key Takeaways:

• In a June 2026 press release, #WeCount data estimated 1.13M abortions for 2025, stating that the number was "driven by telehealth and shield law provision telehealth" accounting for 29% of abortions that year.

• #WeCount claimed that "where abortion is banned, nearly all [over half] abortions were provided via telehealth under shield laws" in 2025.

• #WeCount's national abortion estimates are similar in number to what was published in March of 2026 by the Guttmacher Institute.

• Neither the FDA nor the drug’s manufacturers tasked to police prescribers appear to be decertifying anyone who violates state law or flouts the FDA's REMS safety protocols.

The Details:

But, according to #WeCount data, "Growth in the monthly number of abortions has slowed."

The monthly average number of abortions climbed from 77,560 in 2022, to 85,780 in 2023, to 92,400 in 2024, to 93,900 in 2025. Note that the 2022 monthly average reflects a partial year of data.

National abortion estimates

Since Dobbs, the Guttmacher Institute along with the SFP have been the two organizations publishing estimated abortion data nationally. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which has yet to release data for 2023, relies on reports sent to them by states that require the reporting of abortion statistics.

#WeCount's national abortion estimates are similar in number to what was published in March of 2026 by the Guttmacher Institute, the former "special affiliate" of Planned Parenthood. However, Guttmacher specified that their totals were an underestimation.

• Guttmacher Institute (published March 2026): 1,126,000 abortions for 2025.

• SFP's #WeCount data (published June 2026): 1,126,760 abortions for 2025.

Pro-abortion Guttmacher Institute authors previously acknowledged that the reason abortions have spiked in recent years is due to the abortion pill — specifically the Food and Drug Administration's (FDA) erosions of safety regulations removing the in-person dispensing requirement and enabling the drug to be shipped by mail. 

This appears to be confirmed again by SFP's #WeCount analysis.

#WeCount's Claims

"In 2025, the percentage of abortions provided via telehealth increased compared to previous years, up from 25% in December 2024, and up from 5% in April 2022... Most abortions continue to occur in-person, although the number of inperson abortions decreased slightly from 2024 to 2025," the press release states.

#WeCount claims:

• There were approximately 1.13 million abortions in the formal healthcare system in 2025. The number of abortions within the U.S. healthcare system is higher than before Dobbs.

• In-person care still makes up the majority of abortions, but that number decreased from 2024 to 2025.

• By December 2025, 29% of all abortions occurred through telehealth. This represents an increase from 25% in December 2024.

• In states without bans on abortion care or telehealth abortion care, the proportions of abortions provided via telehealth varied widely, from 10% in New York to 44% in Nevada.

• In states with total bans on abortion care, telehealth made up 97-100% of all abortions in 2025.

• The number of abortions in 2025 in some states with total bans, such as Louisiana and Texas, has surpassed the number of abortions before Dobbs.

• In other states with total bans, such as Idaho, Indiana, and Tennessee, the number of abortions in 2025 remains well below the number of abortions in 2022.

Over half of mail-order abortions provided under shield laws

In May 2026, Guttmacher claimed: 

• Data from the Society of Family Planning shows that as of December 2025, more than one in four clinician-provided abortions in the United States were provided via telehealth. 

• Data from Guttmacher’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study show 91,000 abortions were provided via telehealth to states with total bans in 2025. 

However, the latest #WeCount data suggests the number of abortions provided under shield laws was almost double that figure.

"Telehealth abortion grew from 5% of all abortions in April to 2022 to 29% in December 2025," wrote #WeCount, adding that "where abortion is banned, nearly all [over half] abortions were provided via telehealth under shield laws" in 2025.

The number and proportion of telehealth abortions provided under shield laws has increased over time. As of December 2025, more than half (54%) of telehealth abortions are provided under shield laws.

... By December 2025, abortions provided under shield laws totaled 14,870 per month....

SFP added:

• The number of abortions provided via telehealth has increased; across 2025, over 300,000 abortions were provided via telehealth.

• By December 2025, 29% of US abortions were provided via telehealth.

• Shield laws continue to facilitate abortion access, with nearly 15,000 abortions per month provided under shield laws by December 2025. [emphasis added]

Over at Ms Magazine, pro-abortion author Carrie N. Baker observed:

These numbers are likely just the tip of the iceberg—an undercount of abortion within the medical system because not all providers report their numbers, especially telehealth providers serving patients living in states with abortion bans. These numbers also do not include the growing number of women obtaining and using abortion pills outside of the medical system.

Shield laws undermine pro-life states

In 2024, Dobbs v Jackson Women's Health Organization overturned the infamous Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision, which had a pro-death stranglehold on states from 1973.

In Dobbs, the ruling held that:

The Constitution does not confer a right to abortion; Roe and Casey are overruled; and the authority to regulate abortion is returned to the people and their elected representatives.

Dobbs enabled states to enforce pro-life laws already on the books (previously overruled under Roe) or to pass new protective measures. While pro-life states were protecting life, pro-abortion states were passing laws to "shield" providers who knowingly violate the laws of other states.

In 2023, the Food and Drug Administration eroded REMS safety measures for the abortion pill Mifepristone (200mg)/Mifeprex to allow for mail order and pharmacy dispensing. As a result, abortion drugs are now being shipped into states that have legislatively banned them, many which have also passed shield laws to protect providers. (This has prompted multiple lawsuits against the FDA's 2023 REMS changes; six states are involved so far.) 

For example, #WeCount data claims that, in the State of Texas, where abortion is not legal in most cases, over 47,000 abortions by pill were recorded, the overwhelming majority were sent into the state under so-called shield laws.

Neither the FDA nor the drug’s manufacturers tasked to police prescribers appear to be decertifying anyone who violates state law or flouts the FDA's REMS safety protocols. 

The Background:

Society of Family Planning (SFP) believes in "just and equitable abortion" and has published position statements opposing limits on abortion at any gestational age or for any reason, calling abortion "essential."

In 2022, SFP launched the #WeCount abortion data collection project. The official journal of SFP is Contraception, which publishes numerous abortion studies often cited by the media or court briefs.

The SFP was founded in 2005 thanks to a generous contribution from the Packard Foundation, and is heavily funded by the Buffett Foundation.

In recent years, abortion philanthropist Warren Buffett (the Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation) poured approximately $18 million into SFP, and millions even further back. Both Packard and Buffett were investors in the manufacturers of the abortion pill, namely either Danco Laboratories or the generic manufacturer, GenBioPro — regular exhibitors and sponsors at SFP events.

According to SFP:

#WeCount data include abortions within the formal US healthcare system, defined as medication or procedural abortions provided by a licensed US clinician operating within their licensed scope of practice.

#WeCount data do not reflect self-managed abortions, defined as ending a pregnancy without the involvement of a licensed clinician operating within their licensed scope of practice, such as medications provided by community networks, clinicians providing care outside their licensed scope of practice, or websites that sell medications outside of the formal US healthcare system.

The Top Priority:

Mail-order dispensing increases the risk of coercion, as men have obtained and secretly administered abortion drugs to pregnant women without their knowledge or consent. The in-person visit requirement typically screens for such coercion.

"Since many women residing in states with strong pro-life laws are obtaining abortions via telehealth, these telehealth abortions are undermining many pro-life laws that were passed since the Dobbs decision," wrote Dr. Michael New at National Review.

"The pro-life laws that have been passed since Dobbs have certainly done some good. Multiple analyses of state birth data have shown that these laws have saved thousands of lives. However, these state pro-life laws are weakened by the presence of telehealth abortions," Dr. New claimed.