What is Telehealth?
Put simply, the term “telehealth” means receiving medical care or advice from a healthcare professional remotely. This is done by using technologies such as phone calls, video conferencing, and online messaging. According to the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), telehealth is “the use of electronic information and telecommunication technologies to support long-distance clinical health care, patient and professional health-related education, health administration, and public health.”[1]
What are Telehealth Abortions?
Usually, when people hear the term abortion, many picture a woman visiting an abortion mill in person. The mind doesn’t automatically think about abortion medication, and even if it does, one would think that a prescription is required, which would entail seeing a doctor.
However, a telehealth abortion does not necessarily require the patient to visit a medical facility in person. While this may sound surprising or quite unlikely, the growth of telehealth services has made it possible for abortions to be done remotely. As a result, telehealth abortions have become much more common.
As stated in recent data from #Wecount report, “The number of abortions provided via telehealth has increased; across 2025, over 300,000 abortions were provided via telehealth.”[2]
These stats shed light on a sad reality. Following the ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, many excitedly expected the decrease of abortions across the nation. Instead, according to the Society of Family Planning’s #WeCount Report (April 2022–December 2025), “[t]he monthly number of abortions increased gradually over time…since 2022. The monthly total peaked in January 2025, reaching 104,000 abortions in a single month.”[3]
Another reason for the growth in telehealth abortions could be due to the relatively simple process the women wanting the abortion have to go through. According to the website Abortionfinder, obtaining an abortion via telehealth means that you will get abortion pills mailed to you directly or you pick up the medication from a specific pickup location. The website outlines the steps:
- The patient connects with a healthcare provider on the phone or online.
- If eligible, the provider can prescribe two medications: mifepristone and misoprostol.
- Medications can be picked up at a local pharmacy, or providers can mail the drugs to a patient’s home.[4]
The battlefield is changing. In April of 2022, telehealth abortions accounted for only 5% of abortions in the United States. As of December 2025, that amount increased to 29% of American abortions.[5]
Across State Lines
With Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the United States Supreme Court held that abortion was not a constitutional right and returned the authority to regulate or completely ban abortion to individual states. Since that decision, telehealth services have facilitated the mailing of abortion medication to states who have banned abortion.
A simple Google search looking for information regarding abortion pills results in numerous resources. One of the first websites that comes up is Planned C, a website whose purpose is to provide information on how to acquire the abortion pill in the United States no matter what state you live in.[6]
This means that while you may live in a state in which abortion is banned, you could still receive abortion pills through the mail. While local state laws may prohibit the action of mailing abortion pills, people have been able to legally bypass these bans through “shield laws.”
As stated by the Center for Reproductive Rights, shield laws have been put in place as legal protections to safeguard abortion providers. In their own words, “Shield laws are a way for protective states to say: ‘Your laws stop at your borders. We won’t help enforce your abortion ban.’”[7]
Louisiana vs. FDA
Some states have taken steps to fight against these shield laws. In 2025, Louisiana filed a lawsuit against the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), arguing that by allowing mail order abortion medication, the FDA was undermining the state’s ability to regulate abortion bans.
According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, the requirement for the abortion drug mifepristone to be prescribed in person and by a physician was removed in 2023. This allowed providers to prescribe the medication through telehealth and permitted it to be mailed and dispensed through retail pharmacies. This decision expanded availability to the abortion medication even to those states in which abortion is outlawed.[8]
In May 2026, the Supreme Court shockingly ruled to keep current FDA rules in place, which continues to allow abortion medication to remain accessible via telehealth.[9]
A New Battle
The battlefield is changing and indeed has already changed greatly since Dobbs. In particular, telehealth services have made abortion even more commonplace than before, and even the Supreme Court justices have refused to honor the laws of states that protect the preborn. As personhood advocates, we must continue to be vigilant in the fight for life and adapt to the changing battlefield, winning hearts and advocating for laws that cover every loophole until every preborn child is safe in his mother’s womb.
Sources:
[1] What is Telehealth? | HRSA
[2] ‘Telehealth’ abortions killed over 300k babies in 2025 | LifeSite News
[3] https://societyfp.org/research/wecount/wecount-december-2025-data/
[4] Abortionfinder
[5] WeCount Data
[6] Plan C Pills
[7] Shield Laws
[8]Louisiana v. FDA: Access to Mifepristone Back at the Supreme Court | KFF
[9] Supreme Court allows for access to abortion pill by mail for now | SCOTUS Blog article
Alondra Flores
Guest Writer, Georgia Right to Life
Georgia Right to Life Committee (GRTL) is a faith-based, non-profit, non-partisan, non-sectarian organization whose fundamental purpose is to engage in actions that will restore respect and effective legal protection for all human beings from the moment of fertilization until natural death.