Telehealth Medication Abortion Requests Surge Following Overturn of Roe v. Wade, Study Finds
PHILADELPHIA, PA – Requests for medication abortion via the Aid Access telehealth service nearly doubled in the months following the Supreme Court’s Dobbs v.Jackson Women’s Health Institution decision, according to a new cross-sectional study examining data from 18 states where telehealth medication abortion (teleMAB) remained legal. The research, published in JAMA Network Open, reveals a significant increase in demand, especially for individuals living far from conventional brick-and-mortar abortion facilities.
Researchers analyzed 16,154 Aid Access teleMAB requests between November 2021 and February 2023. Before the Dobbs ruling, 4,545 requests were recorded. Post-Dobbs, that number jumped to 11,609.This translated to a rise in the mean monthly teleMAB service request across all counties, increasing from 2.4 to 4.5 per 100,000 women aged 15 to 44 years.
The study pinpointed a clear correlation between distance to care and demand for teleMAB. The increase in requests was most pronounced in counties located 100 miles or more from an abortion facility, both before and after Dobbs. The median age of patients utilizing the service was 26, with 59.2% (n=9557) being less than 6 weeks pregnant and 58.8% (n=9495) having no children.
“these results build upon our findings pre-Dobbs which also demonstrated increased teleMAB requests among individuals living further from brick-and-mortar facilities,” the study authors wrote.
While acknowledging a limitation - the study focused solely on states where abortion remained legal, potentially including individuals traveling across state lines for care – researchers emphasize the growing importance of teleMAB as a vital resource. They highlight its cost-effectiveness and ability to facilitate access to treatment at early gestations, potentially reducing complications associated with delayed care.
Public health experts are increasingly stressing the need to protect and expand access to telehealth abortion services. “The loss of federal abortion protections has significantly disrupted access even in states with robust service provision,” the study concludes. “Our results highlight the critical role of teleMAB in reducing geographic barriers to care and underscore the need to expand teleMAB access nationwide.”
The study’s findings are detailed in Willerford AK, Godfrey EM, myers C, Gomperts R, Thayer EK, Fiastro A. Distance to care and telehealth abortion demand after Dobbs. JAMA Netw Open. 2025;8(10):e2538212. doi:10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2025.38212.
