(Real Clear Politics) A new report from WeCount confirms what’s becoming increasingly clear: Abortion in the U.S. is not going away. It’s changing form – and it’s doing so at the expense of safety, oversight, and women’s care.
According to the report, an estimated 1.1 million abortions were performed in 2024 – up significantly from the year prior. While the number of brick-and-mortar abortion clinics has declined, access points have exploded, especially through telehealth.
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In 2020, only one in 20 abortions were done via telemedicine. Today, it’s one in four. And nearly half of those were facilitated under the protection of shield laws – policies in states like New York, California, and Massachusetts that shield abortion providers from legal accountability when they prescribe pills across state lines, even to women in states where abortion is restricted or banned.
This is not progress – it’s abandonment.
It’s no surprise, then, that growing concern surrounds the use of abortion pills, particularly mifepristone. A newly released report from the Ethics & Public Policy Center (EPPC) outlines serious safety risks associated with the drug. The report highlights how the FDA has removed longstanding safeguards – called REMS (Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategies) – allowing abortion pills to be dispensed without an ultrasound, screening for ectopic pregnancy, or in-person follow-up care.
Today, a woman can receive abortion-inducing pills in the mail without anyone verifying her age, how far along she is, or whether her pregnancy is even viable. She may not be in a safe medical condition to proceed – and there is no one ensuring she is.
No other area of medicine operates this way.
If a woman were miscarrying at home, any responsible physician would urge her to seek immediate evaluation. Yet in the case of chemical abortion, she’s expected to manage intense pain, bleeding, and emotional trauma entirely on her own – sometimes across state lines, and often without ever speaking to a licensed medical provider.
Worse still, some women are obtaining these pills through anonymous websites or international distributors, with no clear understanding of what they’re taking. There’s no screening, no dosage verification, and no way to ensure the drugs are even authentic.
This is not health care – it’s risk without responsibility.
The WeCount report notes a decline in the number of women crossing state lines for abortions. But that doesn’t indicate lower demand. It signals a new reality: Pills now arrive by mail, bypassing safeguards and stripping away any semblance of personal medical care. Abortion has been reduced to a transaction – quick, remote, and dangerously disconnected.
But while abortion is expanding with fewer safeguards, pregnancy help is expanding with greater care.
Tweet This: While abortion is expanding with fewer safeguards, pregnancy help is expanding with greater care.
At Heartbeat International, we see this shift every day – and we’re responding. In the past year alone, the number of pregnancy help organizations offering virtual services has increased by 172%. These organizations are entering the digital space, ensuring women can connect with a nurse, counselor, or advocate in real-time, with genuine concern for their whole health.
Option Line is a 24/7 pregnancy help contact center that offers the first voice of hope to many women searching for help. Our team of dedicated consultants is ready to listen, guide, and connect each woman with real, life-affirming options – online, by phone, or through one of thousands of local pregnancy centers.
While abortion networks hide behind shield laws, the pregnancy help movement is a network of compassion. While pills arrive in anonymous packaging, life-affirming pregnancy help offers relationships built on trust and truth.
The WeCount data shows that abortion is evolving – and not for the better. The removal of safety standards and the rise of shield-protected providers may expand access, but they erode medical integrity and the human connection every woman deserves.
That’s why the pregnancy help movement is here. And that’s why it’s growing.
Pregnancy help is expanding – not just in terms of number, but in quality, reach, and innovation. We are building a culture that says to every woman: You are not alone. You are not a transaction. You are worth protecting.
The abortion industry offers pills in silence; we offer people who care – because no woman should be left to navigate this life-changing decision alone.
Editor's note: This article was published by Real Clear Politics and is reprinted with permission. Heartbeat International manages Pregnancy Help News.
