Report: after abortion ban, Tennesseans increasingly rely on telehealth to terminate pregnancies

Tennesseans are increasingly turning to tele-health with out-of-state providers to obtain abortions, a new report released Dec. 9 by the Society of Family Planning. (Photo illustration by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

Tennesseans obtained abortions during the first half of 2025 primarily through telehealth visits with healthcare providers in states where the procedure remains legal.

Between January and June, about 750 abortions each month were obtained by Tennessee residents relying on virtual visits and mailed-out or picked up abortion pills, according to data released Tuesday by the Society for Family Planning. 

It’s a trend that began in July 2023 after more Democrat-led states enacted so-called shield laws that protect healthcare providers from legal action taken by authorities in states such as Tennessee, which has outlawed telehealth for abortions and criminalized the mailing of abortion pills — laws that apply only to clinicians, not those seeking abortions. Tennessee has had a near total abortion ban in place since 2022. 

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Nearly all abortions obtained in Tennessee and 12 states with abortion bans in the first half of 2025 have been provided through telehealth visits with providers in states that have enacted shield law, the #WeCount report released Tuesday said. 

“Telehealth has become a lifeline for people accessing abortion care, especially those in states with abortion bans,” said Ushma Upadhyay, co-chair of the report and a professor at the University of California.

The report found that between January and June, licensed healthcare providers performed more than half a million abortions nationally, including in-person clinic visits and medication abortions. The percentage of telehealth abortions during the same time period rose 25% from the end of 2024. 

In total, 99,000 abortions were performed each month in the United States in the first half of 2025, up from 95,000 in 2024, the report found.