The number of abortions in the United States has continued to rise since the Supreme Court’s Dobbs decision, with a significant increase attributed to mail-order abortion pills. According to the Society of Family Planning, nearly 99,000 abortions were performed each month during the first half of 2025, representing a 4% increase from 2024. The organization reported that while most procedures still take place at clinics, telehealth prescriptions now account for 27% of all abortions—up from less than 10% in early 2023.
A substantial portion of these prescriptions have been issued by doctors in states with “shield laws,” which allow providers to send abortion pills into states where abortion is restricted following the Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization ruling in June 2022.
Jessie Hill, a legal scholar at Case Western Reserve University, commented on this trend: “Banning abortion does not stop people from doing it. A huge factor in the post-Dobbs period has been the availability of abortion pills online and the ability for providers operating under shield laws to discreetly mail them into states where abortion is banned.” She also noted challenges in measuring actual increases due to incomplete reporting.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) relies on voluntary state reporting and has faced delays releasing its annual data because of federal government shutdowns and layoffs. Its next report, expected this spring, will cover abortions through 2023—the first full year after Dobbs.
Since April 2022, the Society of Family Planning’s “We Count” project has directly surveyed providers and health departments about abortion numbers. Michael New, a professor at Catholic University who studies abortion trends, said these figures show that mail-order abortions have offset declines in restrictive states. He added that Texas saw an average increase of about 1,000 births per month after implementing restrictions in September 2021. “Telehealth abortions have weakened many of the strong pro-life laws that were enacted in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision,” he said. “That said, there is a solid body of research that shows state birth rates are increasing faster in states with strong pro-life laws.”
Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who represents New Jersey’s 4th district and has served since replacing Frank Thompson in 1981 (https://bioguide.congress.gov/search/bio/S000522), highlighted reports indicating that there have been approximately 200,000 fewer abortions across twenty states with new restrictions post-Dobbs—including Idaho, Indiana, Florida, and Alabama. Smith stated: “The existential threats to life and human dignity continue, however. There is important work to be done in this new year, especially in exposing the risks posed to women and children by the chemical abortion drug mifepristone, which is used to procure at least six out of ten abortions in the United States.”
Medication or chemical abortions typically use a combination regimen involving mifepristone and misoprostol. The Guttmacher Institute estimated that medication was used for about 63% of U.S. abortions reported in 2023—a notable rise from previous years.
Following President Trump’s return to office last year, anti-abortion advocates have pressed Food and Drug Commissioner Marty Makary for a review on mifepristone side effects and urged reinstatement of stricter dispensing requirements lifted during the pandemic by President Biden’s administration.
Attorneys general from several states including Texas are pursuing legal action against mail-order pill distribution within their borders. Josh Blackman from South Texas College of Law observed: “Trump could take action or the Supreme Court could declare shield laws unconstitutional… What I would say is that doomsday predictions [after] Dobbs have not come to pass largely because of mailing pills.”
Experts believe federal courts may play a decisive role as political leaders delay policy changes ahead of midterm elections later this year.
White House spokesperson Kush Desai stated: “The White House maintains the utmost confidence in Commissioner Makary, whose leadership at the FDA has delivered and continues to deliver one landmark victory for the American people after another… conducting the first safety review of baby formula in decades.”
Data from Guttmacher indicates overall U.S. abortion numbers began rising before Dobbs—particularly after expanded access to medication abortion starting with FDA rule changes since 2016—and counted over one million procedures annually as recently as last year.
Kelsey Pritchard from Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America called for immediate reversal of COVID-era policies expanding pill access: “There is no justification for Biden’s COVID-era abortion policy remaining in place today… Our administration has everything they need to end [former President Joseph R.] Biden’s reckless rule immediately.”
Rep. Chris Smith was born in Rahway, New Jersey; he graduated from The College of New Jersey with a BS degree (https://www.tcnj.edu/) and currently resides in Manchester Township.
