As estimates released by Planned Parenthood’s former research arm show that abortion in the United States continues to rise despite the passage of restrictions in many states, pro-life advocates suggest the increasing prevalence of abortions by mail is to blame.
According to data released in a Guttmacher Institute report late last month, an estimated 1,126,000 abortions were carried out in the U.S. last year, a slight increase from the estimated 1,124,000 conducted in 2024.
Michael New, a senior associate scholar at the pro-life Charlotte Lozier Institute, told The Christian Post that while the data shows fewer women living in states with strong laws against abortion obtained abortions out of state in 2025, the decline was “more than offset by the increase in women living in pro-life states who obtained telehealth abortions.”
“Overall, Guttmacher’s data indicated that 91,000 women living in states with strong pro-life laws obtained telehealth abortions in 2025 — an increase of more than 26% over the previous year.” Ultimately, mail-order abortions “are weakening the strong pro-life laws that many states passed after the Dobbs decision,” he continued.
An estimated 142,000 people traveled out of state for an abortion last year, down from 154,000 people in 2024, the report states. Researchers attributed the decrease to a decline in travel among residents in states that have passed laws against abortion.
In 2025, 62,000 women living in areas with laws prohibiting abortion traveled to another state for an abortion, a 16% decline from 2024. Guttmacher also reported that the number of women who had abortions by mail increased from 72,000 to 91,000 between 2024 and 2025.
The data highlights the impact that state public policy decisions have on state abortion rates, New says.
He cited Florida and Iowa, which, in 2024, began enforcing heartbeat protections that prohibit abortion once a preborn child’s heartbeat becomes detectable. In both states, in-state abortions fell by approximately 25% in 2025. Conversely, some states made their abortion policies more permissive. “In 2024, Missouri voters placed legal abortion in the state’s constitution,” New stated. “Similarly, North Dakota’s life at conception law was struck down in 2024. Both Missouri and North Dakota experienced large abortion increases in 2024.”
While the pro-life scholar acknowledged the abortion estimates released by Guttmacher are “fairly accurate,” he warned that the prevalence of abortions by mail may reduce the accuracy of these recent abortion estimates.
Pro-life advocates continue to call on the Trump administration to crack down on the shipment of abortion drugs across state lines. They have also expressed frustration over the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) promised safety review of the abortion drug mifepristone, with some fearing that the review is being delayed.
“These new abortion numbers by Guttmacher show that the lack of action by the Trump FDA continues to undermine the efforts of pro-life states to protect the unborn,” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins said in a statement provided to CP.
“Shield laws [and] mailbox access are allowing chemical abortions to increase in pro-life states, effectively nullifying state laws to protect women and babies,” Perkins added. “Stop the harm.”
Last month, the conservative think tank Ethics & Public Policy Center released a report examining adverse event data for the abortion drug mifepristone before and after the FDA removed the requirement for in-person doctor visits.
According to the analysis, the rate of serious adverse events rose from 10.15% when the in-person requirement was enforced to 11.50% after the FDA removed the requirement — a statistically significant difference of 1.35 percentage points and a 13% increase.
Another study released by the Ethics & Public Policy Center in April 2025 found that 10.93% of women “experience sepsis, infection, hemorrhaging or another serious adverse event within 45 days following a mifepristone abortion.”
According to the April 2025 study, the rate of adverse events experienced by women who take the abortion pill is at least 22 times higher than the “less than 0.5%” figure cited based on clinical trials.
