Considering Telehealth Across State Lines in Uncertain Times

Researchers have shown that physicians’ fear of providing abortion care that runs afoul of these laws is high, even when following the standard of medical care for preserving a patient’s life.5 Yet, despite threats of criminal penalties and the uncertainty and moral distress that has come with confusing wording and variation among state laws, the national number of abortions has not declined after Dobbs. On the contrary, people are still seeking abortions, clinicians are performing abortions, and abortion rates have increased since June 24, 2022.6 Although many possible reasons for the upward trend exist, an important factor is the rise of telehealth as a tool for a wide spectrum of medical care, and for abortion care specifically, in conjunction with new abortion-protective state actions. In this issue of JAMA, Aiken and colleagues7 examine trends in telemedicine use for abortion access.