Arizona abortion telehealth access expands as virtual clinic Hey Jane launches mail services
Arizona abortion telehealth clinic launches
Arizona voters protected abortion access through Proposition 139 over a year and a half ago, but in-person care remains unavailable across 12 of the state's 15 counties. FOX 10's Ellen McNamara has the details.
PHOENIX - It has been over a year and a half since Arizona voters passed Proposition 139, adding abortion rights to the state constitution.
While abortion is legal in the state up to fetal viability, access remains limited. Now, a national telehealth clinic is launching in Arizona with the goal of bridging that gap through the mail.
What we know:
In November 2024, Arizonans voted to protect abortion access. Then, in February 2026, a State Superior Court permanently blocked a ban on telehealth services for abortion pills.
Those legal changes have paved the way for virtual clinics like Hey Jane to enter the Grand Canyon State.
Dr. Amy Potter is the chief medical officer for Hey Jane. She says that while Phoenix has multiple in-person clinics, the rest of the state faces a much different reality.
"In Arizona, 12 of 15 counties actually have no in-person abortion clinic at all, which what that means is about one in five Arizona residents lives in a county with no abortion access in person at all," said Dr. Amy Potter, Chief Medical Officer at Hey Jane.
Mifepristone and Misoprostol pills are pictured Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2018, in Skokie, Illinois. (Erin Hooley/Chicago Tribune/Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Dig deeper:
Dr. Potter says virtual care allows patients to consult with a medical provider online or over the phone and have medications shipped directly to them. Critics of virtual care have expressed concern that the convenience of mail-order abortion pills could lead to them being used as a substitute for birth control.
However, Dr. Potter says that's not what she's seeing.
"The vast majority of patients that I have met over my career are making really concerted and thoughtful decisions with the resources that they have," Potter said.
Only medical doctors are legally allowed to perform abortions or prescribe the medication in Arizona. According to the Society of Family Planning, more than a quarter of U.S. abortions within the healthcare system were provided via telehealth in the first half of 2025.