Though their states severely restrict abortion or place limits on having one through telehealth, about 8,000 women per month late last year were getting abortion pills by mail from states with legal protections for prescribers, a new survey finds.

Tuesday’s release of the #WeCount report is the first time a number has been put on how often the medical system workaround is being used. The research was conducted for the Society of Family Planning, which supports abortion rights.

The group found that by December 2023, providers in states with the protections were prescribing pills to about 6,000 women a month in states where abortion was banned at all stages of pregnancy or once cardiac activity can be detected — about six weeks, often before women realize they’re pregnant. The prescriptions also were going to about 2,000 women a month in states where the local laws limit abortion pill prescriptions by telemedicine.