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There's been a massive rise in the demand for abortion pills in the United States after Donald Trump's re-election to the White House. It stems from fears that under Trump 2.0, the country may face unprecedented restrictions as far as reproductive care is concerned.
Aid Access, the leading supplier of abortion pills by mail in the US, received over 5,000 requests in less than 12 hours. “I can see all the new requests ticking in as we're talking,” founder Rebecca Gomperts told the Guardian. “We've never seen this before.”
For Ms Gomperts, this wave of demand was not unexpected. Aid Access has established a streamlined system where physicians in abortion-legal states prescribe and ship pills to those in states with bans. Still, the sheer volume on Wednesday was huge. “We have an extremely streamlined process... but it's much more [than usual],” Ms Gomperts remarked.
Similar trends were observed across the country. Telehealth services like Wisp saw a 300 per cent increase in requests for emergency contraception, while Plan C, an abortion pill finder site, experienced a 625 per cent surge in traffic. “People are trying to plan for the reproductive apocalypse that we anticipate will be happening under a Trump presidency,” said Elisa Wells, co-founder of Plan C.
Women's health providers also experienced a dramatic rise in demand for emergency contraception. Wisp tripled its daily sales of Plan B by mid-morning Wednesday, with bulk orders increasing from 30 per cent of monthly sales to nearly 90 per cent in a single day. Similarly, Winx, another telehealth service, reported selling six times more doses of Plan B by Wednesday afternoon than in the previous week.
Transgender healthcare providers also faced a deluge of requests. Dr Crystal Beal, founder of QueerDoc, received an influx of inquiries from trans patients worried about access to hormone therapy. QueerDoc received more patient messages in one day than it typically would in a week. “Some of it is ‘How can I safeguard my access to medication?'” Ms Beal shared, citing concerns about the potential rollback of trans healthcare rights under Trump's administration. QueerDoc is now advising patients to stockpile hormone medications within the bounds of state laws and insurance limits.
Donald Trump's stance on abortion has oscillated, but his judicial appointments have consistently called for abortion restrictions, particularly in conservative states. Despite his campaign promise not to impose a nationwide abortion ban, experts say there are indirect ways his administration could restrict access.
A focus is likely on abortion pills, which accounted for 63 per cent of abortions in 2023. Measures could include stricter FDA rules requiring in-person dispensing or legal challenges under the 1873 Comstock Act, which could target pill distribution.
Although state-level decisions remain important, Trump's previous stance and actions, like appointing justices to overturn Roe v Wade, are a cause of concern.