By I. Edwards HealthDay Reporter<\/b>
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THURSDAY, April 17, 2025 (HealthDay News) \u2014 Fewer Americans traveled out of state for an abortion in 2024, according to a new report from the Guttmacher Institute, a group<\/a> that supports abortion rights.<\/p>\n The report found that about 155,000 people crossed state lines for abortion care last year, down 9% from 2023.<\/p>\n The total number of abortions stayed steady, however, with 1,038,100 performed in states where it is still legal, The Washington Post <\/em>said.<\/p>\n Travel has become a key issue since the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, ending the constitutional right to abortion.<\/p>\n More than a dozen states have since enacted near-total bans, making it harder for many people to access care without leaving their home state.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s not just the cost of travel itself or the cost of the procedure,\u201d Isaac Maddow-Zimet<\/a>, a data scientist at the Guttmacher Institute, told The Post<\/em>. \u201cIt\u2019s also the kind of navigational support of trying to figure out how to navigate a patchwork of laws, find a clinic with appointment availability, get child care \u2014 most abortion patients have children \u2014 find accommodation, often for multiple days.\u201d<\/p>\n One reason fewer people traveled: Donations to support abortion travel have declined while the need has gone up.<\/p>\n \u201cWe know that there was a big increase in donations to those organizations immediately post-[Roe\u2019s reversal]. We know also that those donations have dropped off substantially, and then at the same time, we have increased need,\u201d Maddow-Zimet said.<\/p>\n More patients are now using virtual services to get abortion pills from licensed providers in states with shield laws that protect doctors from prosecution, The Post<\/em> reported.<\/p>\n Nationwide, these types of abortions rose from 4% in April 2022 to 20% by June 2024, with more than 19,000 telehealth abortions happening each month, according to the Society of Family Planning<\/a>.<\/p>\n Patients \u201ccan still get safe, legal care from a licensed practitioner without having to make child-care arrangements or skip work or school,\u201d said Julie Kay<\/a>, executive director of the Abortion Coalition for Telemedicine<\/a>, an abortion rights group.<\/p>\n \u201cThey don\u2019t have to travel in isolation; they don\u2019t have to deal with clinic harassment,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n Illinois, North Carolina, Kansas and New Mexico saw the most out-of-state patients.<\/p>\n In New Mexico, 69% of all abortions were for people from other states, many coming from Texas and Oklahoma where bans are in place.<\/p>\n Virginia also saw an increase in out-of-state patients, likely from Florida, according to The Post<\/em>. A new six-week ban \u2014 one of the nation’s strictest laws \u2014 took effect in Florida last May.<\/p>\n Some states are trying to make it harder for people to travel for abortion. Idaho and Tennessee have made it a crime to help minors leave for the procedure without their parents’ consent.<\/p>\n In Alabama, a federal judge ruled that the state can\u2019t prosecute groups helping people travel out of state for abortion. The judge said the right to interstate travel is \u201cone of our most fundamental constitutional rights.\u201d<\/p>\n More information<\/strong><\/p>\n The Center for Reproductive Rights has more on abortion laws by state<\/a>. <\/p>\n