November 09, 2024
Within hours of Donald Trump’s presidential victory, Americans began looking to stockpile reproductive health medications, including emergency contraception and abortion pills, amid widespread fears that his administration could restrict access to these essential resources.
The abortion pill mifepristone — sold as Mifegymiso in Canada and Mifeprex in the U.S. — has been flying off the shelves, with online retailers reporting a surge in demand as people take proactive steps to safeguard their reproductive autonomy, explained Elisa Wells, co-founder of Plan C, a U.S. public health initiative that helps facilitate medication abortion.
“Prior to the election results coming out, earlier this month, we had 4,500 visitors per day. Yesterday, we had 82,900 visitors. It’s a huge surge in people looking for information about how to access abortion,” she said. “We also know from talking to providers that they have seen a huge surge in requests for abortion pills.”
Wells believes the surge in requests following the election will continue for some time, as people take steps to secure their reproductive health options for the future.
That’s because the abortion pill is a contentious issue in the U.S. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a bid by anti-abortion groups and doctors to restrict access to the abortion pill. Around half of U.S. states permit online prescribing and mail delivery of mifepristone, while the others either restrict its availability or ban it altogether.
Although mifepristone remains legal in many states, there is growing concern that access may become more restricted under a Trump administration, especially given the former president’s wavering stance on a potential ban.
“What’s really happening is that people are afraid that abortion is not going to be accessible, even in states that currently are providing it. There is a lot of fear in the United States. And it’s hard to know whether that fear is justified,” Wells said.
“Based on what Trump has said about abortion … he has flip-flopped on it over the years.”
Americans aren’t just stockpiling the abortion pill, they’re also purchasing other reproductive health medications like birth control and emergency contraception.
Wisp, a U.S.-based online sexual and reproductive health company, told Global News it has seen a significant spike in demand for Plan B (emergency contraception) since Trump’s presidential win.
On Nov. 6, sales of emergency contraception pills surged nearly 1,000 per cent, with birth control sales increasing by 50 per cent and new patient purchases of emergency contraception rising 1,650 per cent. And orders for medical abortion pills jumped 600 per cent from Nov. 5 to 6, a spokesperson said.
Telehealth clinic Hey Jane reported a 27 per cent increase in medication abortion orders, a 35 per cent rise in birth control orders and a 123 per cent spike in emergency contraception requests the day after the presidential election.
Mifepristone is prescribed to end pregnancies by dilating the cervix and blocking the hormone progesterone, which is needed to sustain a pregnancy. It is usually taken with a second drug, misoprostol, that causes the uterus to cramp and contract. The two-drug regimen is used to end a pregnancy through 10 weeks in the U.S.
Mifepristone is legal in Canada and the U.S. and is available with a doctor’s prescription. The abortion pill, given FDA regulatory approval in 2000, is used in more than 60 per cent of U.S. abortions.
The FDA has said that after decades of use by millions of women in the U.S. and around the world, mifepristone has proven “extremely safe,” and that studies have demonstrated that “serious adverse events are exceedingly rare.”
The mifepristone and misoprostol regimen is also on the World Health Organization’s list of essential drugs.
In Canada, the abortion pill can be prescribed up until nine weeks gestation for on-label use. Physicians can prescribe it off-label up to 10 weeks of gestation as it has been used safely and effectively up to that gestational age and beyond.
Medical abortion with mifepristone is 95 to 98 per cent effective when used as directed. The risk of serious complications, such as infection or hemorrhage that may require hospitalization or a transfusion, is just 0.4 per cent.
Wells explained that mifepristone has a shelf life of around five years, while misoprostol lasts about two years. Because of this extended shelf life, she recommends that people consider keeping abortion pills on hand as a precaution.
“Many of the providers we work with offer the option to get abortion pills in advance and store them just in case. With the incoming administration, we suggest people consider this,” she said. “Be prepared — the medications last for years, and it’s a fairly low-cost way to have something essential in your medicine cabinet.”
In an interview published in April by Time magazine, Trump declined to comment on access to the abortion pill mifepristone.
“Well, I have an opinion on that, but I’m not going to explain. I’m not gonna say it yet. But I have pretty strong views on that. And I’ll be releasing it probably over the next week,” he stated in the Time interview.
In the first 2024 presidential debate with President Joe Biden in June, Trump stated that he would not restrict access to abortion drugs if elected.
However, Project 2025, the conservative governing blueprint authored by former Trump officials and other close advisers, which he has said he is not involved with, calls for the FDA to withdraw its approval of the abortion pill.
Google searches for reproductive rights also surged after Trump’s election win.
On Nov. 6, Google searches for “vasectomy” spiked, with the highest search volumes coming from Utah, Alaska, Indiana, Nebraska and Kentucky. Abortion is banned in Kentucky and Indiana, while Utah enforces an 18-week abortion ban and Nebraska limits abortion access to 12 weeks.
The search term “does Planned Parenthood do vasectomies” also rose 450 per cent over the last few days, according to Google.
“Bilateral salpingectomy,” which is a surgical procedure involving the removal of both fallopian tubes, also spiked in Google searches.
Additionally, “sterilization for women,” “cost of vasectomy,” “tubes tied” and “abortion pill shelf life” all surged and appeared as breakout terms.
It’s difficult to predict what will happen over the next four years during the Trump administration, Wells said, but she said organizations like Plan C are “planning for the worst.”
“We are planning to get pills into the country if they become unavailable through the mainstream medical providers. We have been working on this for 10 years, and have systems set up and scaled to help meet the need for access,” she said.
“Because we will continue to need access to abortion care when a country or state bans abortion, it does not change the demand for abortion care.”
— With files from the Associated Press and Reuters
