As the total number of abortions in Colorado climbs, telehealth-only abortion care is increasing too. This trend follows pandemic-era restrictions limiting in-person care and the overturning of Roe vs. Wade in June of last year.
Colorado providers have reported providing nearly 500 virtual appointments each month this year, according to data from the Society of Family Planning. Medication abortion, a combination of two different pills taken to end a pregnancy, is available at in-person clinics in Colorado and also via telehealth. Plan C, an information campaign about abortion access, lists 12 online clinics that serve people here, offering abortion pills for $145- $410.
“Usually it's an online form that is filled out. Sometimes a video visit is required for some of these providers,” said Elisa Wells, the co-founder of Plan C. “Do you want to have an interaction online with somebody? If so, you can choose somebody who does a video visit. Would you prefer to do it at 12 o'clock at night when everybody is asleep in your house and you can just fill in a form?”
As telehealth services expand in Colorado, elected officials are putting legal safeguards in place, particularly for patients traveling from states where abortion is restricted. Earlier this year, Colorado lawmakers passed a so-called shield law, joining a handful of states that have recently moved to protect abortion providers and out-of-state patients from prosecution.
“There are options available for telehealth care in every state,” Wells said. “In states that restrict access to care, these services are provided by a clinician who's sitting in a state that protects them from extradition or any kind of loss of their license for providing that care.”
Just the Pill is a non-profit that provides a slightly different model of care in Wyoming, Montana, Colorado and Minnesota: connecting patients with abortion pills via mail or mobile clinic. While their clinicians must only be licensed in the state, patients must be physically in Colorado which means many are traveling across state lines. Following a telehealth appointment, patients can go pick up medications at a Colorado FedEx for example or at Just The Pill’s mobile clinic which parks on the state’s border.
Since the Supreme Court overturned federal abortion protections in June of last year, Just The Pill has seen around 400 patients at its mobile clinic in Colorado. They have come from all around the country; from Texas to Louisiana.
Brick and mortar clinics have been closingin states where abortion has become banned or restricted. According to the Abortion Care Network, a membership organization for independent abortion clinics, 133 of these facilities closed from 2017 to 2022.
“So we're losing maternity care, we're losing STI treatment and testing, we're losing pregnancy options, right?” Amaon said.
Just The Pill hopes to launch a mobile van for surgical abortions in the next year. The organization is also shifting its focus to the patients who are traveling for care, instead of expanding telehealth services.
“We know there are lots of telehealth providers in Colorado specifically and that are popping up all over the place, which is great. That was something that was much needed,” said Amaon. “But what we're really wanting to focus on more is people traveling for care. So those coming from banned or restricted states...can we help arrange flights, hotels, child care?”
