Following Donald Trump's victory in the US presidential election, there has been a dramatic increase in the online purchase of emergency contraceptives, such as Plan B, across the United States. This surge indicates that many women are apprehensive about potential restrictions on their access to emergency contraception under a Trump administration and are taking preemptive measures, according to Monica Cepak, CEO of Wisp, a telehealth company specializing in sexual and reproductive health.

Wisp has witnessed a staggering 1,000% increase in the sales of its two types of emergency contraceptives within a single day post-election. Cepak noted, "We are observing a trend where women are actively stockpiling emergency contraceptive pills. The launch of our multipack Plan B has been a significant factor in the substantial rise in orders. Approximately 90% of the emergency contraception orders are for these multipacks."

WinX Health, a startup focusing on sexual and vaginal health, has also experienced a significant boost in sales of its morning-after pill, Restart, with a 315% increase on the day after the election compared to the previous 24 hours. This translates to seven times more doses of Restart being sold on the day following the election than in the entire week before, as stated by the company. Cynthia Plotch, co-founder of WinX Health, commented, "Sales have skyrocketed immediately. As of Friday, our product sales had increased by 966% from the three days prior to the election.

The majority of these sales are for multipacks, indicating that women are not just purchasing a single product but are stockpiling them for personal use, as well as for their friends and sisters." Plotch further added, "What I am taking away from this experience is that women are intelligent and astute. We did not make our bodies political; they were turned into political pawns, and now we are learning how to reclaim that control. This is why we are witnessing these trends."

WinX Health has also observed a growing interest in its community-funded Restart Donation Bank program, which enables anyone in need of the Restart morning-after pill to request it online and receive it at no cost. Plotch emphasized, "As a women-owned and women-led company representing a community of women, it is our duty to continue fighting. Our work, not just at WinX but as a community, is centered around safeguarding access and enhancing education."

Emergency contraception, such as the morning-after pill, is a form of birth control that can prevent pregnancy following intercourse. It is distinct from abortion, which involves different types of medications. Morning-after pills are effective only if the user is not already pregnant, whereas abortion entails the termination of a pregnancy.

Plotch mentioned that women living in states with heightened abortion regulations often believe they also lack access to emergency contraception. Some physicians have reported an uptick in patients inquiring not only about emergency contraception options but also about long-acting contraception methods like intrauterine devices (IUDs). Certain patients are specifically requesting to receive either medications or procedures before Trump's inauguration in January. Dr. Clayton Alfonso, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Duke Health in North Carolina and a member of the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, shared, "On Thursday, just two days after the election, I received four requests from patients for either permanent sterilization or an IUD, with all of them asking, 'Can I please get this done before the inauguration?'

I also had a pediatrician colleague contact me about an 18-year-old in a panic trying to get an IUD before the end of the year. Another colleague in the clinic mentioned having seen two requests for permanent sterilization since the election results on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning." Alfonso noted that he and his colleagues observed a slight increase in these types of requests following the US Supreme Court's Dobbs decision, which overturned Roe v. Wade and ended the federal right to abortion in 2022. However, the new requests seem more "dire," with patients rightfully fearful about the future.

Some of the concerns regarding the potential state of reproductive healthcare under a second Trump presidency stem from Project 2025, a conservative blueprint organized by the think tank The Heritage Foundation for the consideration of the next Republican president. Based on the agenda outlined in Project 2025, reproductive healthcare experts are worried about how a second Trump presidency could severely limit access not only to abortion care but also to maternal healthcare, fertility care, and contraception.

Amy Friedrich-Karnik, director of federal policy at the Guttmacher Institute, a research and policy organization focused on sexual and reproductive health that supports abortion rights, stated, "It's important to recognize that all of these areas are interconnected." There are fears that the Trump administration may spread misinformation about reproductive healthcare, defund programs and clinics that provide contraception, or use the Comstock Act, a federal law from the Reconstruction era that prohibits the mailing of "obscenities," to ban the mailing of medication abortion.

Friedrich-Karnik emphasized, "When you attack one aspect of reproductive healthcare, it has a ripple effect. People who need abortion care often also need contraception at some point, and those who need contraception may eventually require maternal healthcare. People's lives are fluid, and this care is fluid as well; you cannot attack one aspect of reproductive healthcare without significantly impacting the entire range of care that people need."