Fewer patients traveled to obtain abortion care in 2025 while more turned to telehealth services, a new report from the Guttmacher Institute found.
The March 2026 report used data from Guttmacher’s Monthly Abortion Provision Study, which provides estimates on clinician-provided abortions in each state since January 2023. It tracks procedural and medication abortions at brick-and-mortar facilities, as well as medication abortions from telehealth providers.
Findings from the monthly study represent an “underestimate” of total national abortions, as advanced provisions of medication abortion and abortion exceptions in states with total bans are excluded from the data.
Thirteen states have total abortion bans with limited exceptions as of the end of 2025, while six others have six- or twelve-week bans enacted.
An estimated 142,000 people traveled out of state to obtain abortion care last year, down from 154,000 people in 2024, per the report. Researchers said the decline was “almost entirely driven” by decreased travel from patients in states with total bans—62,000 people traveled to seek care in 2025, while 74,000 traveled in 2024.
Meanwhile, telehealth provisions in states with total bans increased from 72,000 to 91,000 between 2024 and 2025. Telehealth shield laws in certain states with bans protect providers and patients with certain kinds of “legally protected sexual and reproductive” care.
Guttmacher Institute data scientist and lead researcher Isaac Maddow-Zimet said in a statement that findings indicate “major shifts” in the ways patients in states with total abortion bans are seeking care.
“Yet interstate travel for abortion remains a critical option for many, especially for those seeking care later in pregnancy,” said Maddow-Zimet. “While travel from total ban states decreased in 2025 as compared to 2024, the number of people who traveled out of these states is still more than double pre-Dobbs numbers.”
Despite observed shifts and increasingly strict legal requirements, the number of abortions remained steady across the nation. An estimated 1.126 million abortions were provided in 2025, remaining “largely unchanged” from the estimated 1.124 million provided in 2024.
“This is the highest number of abortions provided in the United States since 2009; however, it is still well below the historical peak of slightly over 1.6 million abortions in 1990,” the report said.