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People are searching for information about the morning after pill in the wake of Donald Trump's election, as many fear access to birth control and abortion will further deteriorate during his second term.
Searches for “morning after pill” have increased as compared to the past 30 days, according to Google Trends, marking an upward trend in interest around emergency contraception. This upward trend may indicate fear and uncertainty around what a second Trump term might mean for reproductive rights.
In his first term, Trump put Supreme Court justices in place that eventually overturned Roe v. Wade, ending the right to an abortion and triggering numerous state bans that have made abortion all but inaccessible for millions of women. While he's denied that he would sign a federal abortion ban, experts say Trump could move to ban abortion in different ways, and have raised alarm about access to birth control under the new administration.
With these fears in mind, many on social media are talking about stocking up on emergency contraceptives and abortion pills before Trump takes office.
“Plan B has a shelf life of 3-4 years and Amazon is selling them for $7,” one X user wrote. That post got more than 7,000 reposts and 28,000 likes. Another post about the shelf life of the morning after pill racked up more than 544,000 likes on TikTok.
According to Winx Health, people seem to be taking these calls to action seriously. The brand says it sold seven times as much of its emergency contraceptive, Restart, on November 6 than in the past week combined. Of those purchases, 75% were value packs.
While preparing yourself and taking control of your reproductive health is always important, remember that emergency contraceptive is legal in all states, abortion pills are available in many states and via mail, and abortion in all forms is still legal in many places. To learn more about emergency contraception, how it works, and where you can find it, head here.
