What percentage of abortion patients in the U.S. use medication abortion?

According to Guttmacher, medication abortions accounted for 63% of abortions in 2023 — a massive jump from zero in 2000 and 53% in 2020.

This percentage does not include self-managed abortions or abortion pills mailed to anyone in a state where abortion is banned.

Guttmacher does not have state-level medication abortion data.

How many states limit the mailing of abortion pills?

Twelve states — other than the 14 states where abortion is banned — have passed laws mandating at least one in-person clinic visit, according to the health news service Kaiser Family Foundation.

Twenty-four states, including California, have no telehealth medication abortion restrictions.

Still, the legal landscape is hazy. Some online-only abortion clinics, such as Europe-based Aid Access, allow U.S. doctors in blue states with "shield laws," legislation designed to protect them from prosecution, to prescribe and mail pills to patients in restricted states.

How many Americans get medication abortion by mail?

There's no complete national data on the number of self-managed medication abortions. But research suggests more American women began to access abortion pills via mail in recent years as they experienced limited clinic access during the COVID-19 pandemic, states imposed abortion restrictions, and abortion pills became more readily accessible.

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