One year since Dobbs: How medication abortion has changed post-Roe

One year ago, the Supreme Court took the unprecedented action of overturning Roe v. Wade—ending nearly 50 years of legal abortion being recognized as a constitutionally protected right, and upending abortion access for millions of people. In spite of the decision, the virtual clinic Hey Jane has continued to provide safe, effective, and uninterrupted abortion care to thousands of patients since then.

In the past year, people across the country have been forced to travel for basic health care, while those in states with protections have faced long in-person clinic appointment wait times—leading to abortion care via mail becoming one of the most viable forms of access.

We at Hey Jane have seen firsthand the impact that this decision has had on our patients—as well as the ways that telemedicine abortion care has helped them access treatment quickly, conveniently, affordably, and privately, all while receiving expert medical care and compassionate emotional support from our clinical care team.

Here are the key changes since the Dobbs v. Jackson decision:

The key changes, post-Dobbs

1. Hey Jane saw many more patients, across all of the states we’re in—but especially “border” states

• Hey Jane saw a 164% increase in patients
• Hey Jane saw a 301% increase in patients in Illinois, a 231% increase in patients in Colorado, and a 178% increase in patients in New Mexico

2. People are coming to us faster.

• The average gestational age of our patients went down post-Dobbs—to around 6 weeks pregnant at the time of intake

3. People are concerned about privacy.

• Privacy was the top reason why people opted for telemedicine abortion care with Hey Jane
• Our patients were less likely to share personal details about themselves during intake—including race, ethnicity, education, number of children, and number of previous abortions

4. In spite of the current political climate, at the end of their treatment patients felt that they received excellent care from Hey Jane.

The typical Hey Jane patient post-Dobbs…

• Is 29 years old
• Is 6 weeks pregnant when they complete their intake
• Is having an abortion for the first time

What matters most to our patients, post-Dobbs

• Nearly half of patients (44%) said that privacy of the treatment was what was most important to them during treatment
• A quarter of patients (22%) said convenience of treatment was most important to them during treatment

What their abortion experience was like, post-Dobbs

• At the end of their telemedicine abortion experience, Hey Jane’s patients post-Dobbs rated their overall Hey Jane experience 4.9 out of 5

Hey Jane patient details, post-Dobbs

Age

• The average patient age was 29 years old
• About half of patients (51%) were in their 20s, a third of patients (37%) were in their 30s, and 6% were 18-19 years old (note: Hey Jane serves patients 18+)

Gestation

• The average gestational age at intake was six weeks
• 72% of Hey Jane patients post-Dobbs completed their intake within the first six weeks of their pregnancy (up from 65% in our April ‘21-‘22 data release)
• 93% within the first eight weeks of their pregnancy (up from 92%)

Previous children

• Nearly half (43%) of Hey Jane patients post-Dobbs were already parents
• The number of people who selected “I prefer not to answer” increased from 1% pre-Dobbs decision to 3% post-Dobbs decision

Previous abortion

• More than half (59%) of Hey Jane patients post-Dobbs were having an abortion for the first time
• The number of people who selected “I prefer not to answer” increased from 2% pre-Dobbs decision to 5% post-Dobbs decision

Location

• Across all states that Hey Jane operates in, the number of patients we saw increased significantly post-Dobbs (+164%)—especially in states that border more restrictive states:

• Illinois: 301% increase
• Colorado: 231% increase
• New Mexico: 178% increase 
• California: 116% increase
• New York: 97% increase 
• Washington: 95% increase

How Hey Jane changed, post-Dobbs

• Hey Jane helped its 30,000th patient get the safe abortion care they needed
• Hey Jane nearly doubled its footprint, launching in Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Virginia—bringing our total state count to 11 (with more coming in 2023)
• Hey Jane increased its clinical care team size by 54%
• Hey Jane became the first 100% online telemedicine clinic to accept insurance for abortion services
• Hey Jane introduced sliding-scale pricing based on each patient's personal and financial circumstances
• Hey Jane raised more than $10,000 for our abortion fund partners
• Hey Jane became the first telemedicine abortion clinic to be verified on Instagram and TikTok
• Hey Jane signed an amicus brief (alongside other leading reproductive health, rights, and justice organizations) filed as part of Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine v. FDA

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