Even if the FDA preserves telehealth abortion, they want mandatory ultrasounds, waiting periods and in-person visits.

As they await a federal decision on a potential nationwide ban on telehealth abortions, anti-abortion activists plan to push more states to require women to visit a doctor’s office, get an ultrasound or wait before they can get abortion pills.

Under its current guidelines, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration does not require in-person visits, ultrasounds or waiting periods for women seeking abortion pills. Nevertheless, ten states without total abortion bans still require them.

One of those states is Florida. The state only allows abortion up to six weeks—which is before many women discover they are pregnant. Under state law, women must first get an ultrasound and then wait at least 24 hours before receiving pills or a procedure. By that time, they might be beyond the six weeks threshold.

“Floridians are already under a time clock,” said Lana’e Hernandez, a case manager for the Florida Access Network, an abortion fund that helps women pay for their abortions and travel to other states if they fall outside Florida’s narrow window.

“I see a lot of clients having to then travel out of state and take even more time off of work, adding another barrier to accessing care because of those laws combined.”

Medication abortion typically involves two drugs: mifepristone and misoprostol. The FDA approved the two-drug regimen in 2000 and gradually loosened restrictions as safety reviews showed a low risk of serious and life-threatening conditions. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the Biden administration suspended enforcement of the rule that patients had to take the medication in person, and the FDA officially removed that requirement in 2023.

But anti-abortion organizations and attorneys general have challenged these changes in ongoing federal lawsuits. And in 2025, activist groups successfully pressured the Trump administration’s FDA to review the safety data again.

On Oct. 7, 2026, the FDA was expected to update the public on the progress of this review, though the agency is not expected to issue a final ruling on telehealth access to the pills. The Washington Sun recently reported that the Trump administration wants to delay any potentially controversial actions around abortion until after the midterm elections. The administration has also delayed multiple ongoing federal lawsuits until after the review.

Abortion rights advocates say reversing telehealth access to medication abortion would have a huge impact across the country. Medication abortions now account for about 65 percent of all abortions, and roughly 28 percent of all abortions are through telehealth, according to KFF, a health research group.

In statehouses, the midterm elections could determine whether more states will seek to restrict........

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