Despite the overall abortion totals dropping, the report also found an increase in abortions provided through virtual telehealth clinics, which have increased in every month that followed the Supreme Court decision. In April, before the decision, there were 3,610 abortions provided through telehealth. In December, that number jumped by 137% to 8,540 abortions. In April, 4% of all abortions were provided via telehealth, and in December, it accounted for 11% of abortions.
The reporting effort, which is called #WeCount, compiles data provided by known abortion providers. The report included numbers for 83% of legal abortion providers in the United States and provided estimates for the remaining 17%. The report did not consider illegal abortions.
Ushma Upadhyay, who co-chairs #WeCount, expressed frustration with the decrease in abortions.
“The #WeCount data show just how much abortion care has been disrupted in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe,” Upadhyay said in a statement. “We know that when someone wants to have an abortion but is unable to get one, the impact on their lives can be devastating, economically, physically, socially, and psychologically. Multiply that impact by thousands, and that’s the landscape of abortion access right now.”
Alternatively, pro-life organizations expressed excitement over the results.
“The news that abortions in this country dropped by 32,260 in the six months following the Dobbs v. Jackson decision is absolutely wonderful!” Carol Tobias, the president of the National Right to Life Committee, told CNA.