Report on Abortion Data Reveals Key Trends

According to a new report, over 1.1 million fetuses were lost to abortion last year, and the trend of mail-order abortions is also on the rise, particularly in states with pro-life laws. This report, from the Guttmacher Institute, suggests that there will be about 1.126 million abortions by 2025, marking a slight increase from the previous year.

The study did not cover abortions that occurred outside of telemedicine, meaning the actual numbers might be higher than reported. Guttmacher acknowledged this as a limitation in their research.

Interestingly, the uptick in abortions might be associated with a surge in telemedicine procedures in 13 states where abortion access is restricted. Notably, the number of telemedicine abortions rose from 72,000 in 2024 to 91,000 in 2025.

Conversely, there has been a decrease in the number of women traveling across state lines for abortions, dropping to 142,000 last year from 154,000 in 2024 and 170,000 in 2023. This decline followed the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision overhauling “Roe v. Wade,” which previously affirmed a constitutional right to abortion.

Isaac Maddow-Zimmett, a data scientist at Guttmacher, pointed out that it’s logical to see less travel since telemedicine allows for treatment from home. He noted that this marks the first time hard data has illustrated this shift.

In terms of medication usage, the report indicated that medication abortions constitute 63% of all abortions within the formal healthcare system in the U.S. This figure has risen from 53% in 2020 and 39% in 2017. However, the report doesn’t factor in the abortion drugs obtained through underground channels.

A significant part of the boom in mail-order abortions is linked to changes made by the Biden administration’s FDA, which in 2021 eased requirements on in-person dispensing of abortion pills, allowing them to be mailed. This decision, combined with protective laws in some states, has facilitated access to these medications.

Republicans have urged the FDA to reverse the mail-order abortion plan initiated by the Biden administration, but no action has yet been taken. There’s also pressure on the agency to speed up the review of mifepristone, the first drug in a two-drug abortion regimen, especially after a recent study raised concerns about higher complication rates.

Looking at in-person abortions, several red states have implemented restrictive laws, while blue states continue to see a high demand for services. In Illinois, for example, around 32,000 abortions were provided to non-residents, making up almost a quarter of nationwide travel for abortions. Meanwhile, North Carolina reported at least 18,000 abortions for women traveling from out of state; this was seen as a response to a six-week gestation ban in Florida, even though North Carolina also has a 12-week limit with a waiting period.