JEFFERSON CITY — The demand for emergency contraception kits has spiked following the presidential election, a trend driven by growing concerns over potential changes in reproductive health policies, according to Leslie Klote, the communications manager for the Missouri Family Health Council.
The spike comes despite major wins for abortion-rights advocates across the nation, with reproductive rights being added to seven state constitutions, including Missouri’s with the passage of Amendment 3. The anticipation of another Donald Trump presidency has seemingly left some women fearful for emergency contraception nationwide, national news outlets report.
“The spike is definitely due to fear and uncertainty,” Klote said. “People are scared of what these new administrations, both at the state and federal levels, could mean for birth control access.”
The Missouri Family Health Council distributes kits that include two doses of over-the-counter emergency contraception, safer sex supplies like condoms, and information on health care resources, such as birth control and STD testing services provided by health centers across the state. Kits are mailed directly to individuals, and they can also be picked up at community distribution points throughout Missouri.
Before the 2020 presidential election, the organization received about 19 requests a day. But in the days following the election, that number surged to 150 requests per day.
“Folks are just taking all precautions they can to ensure that they are able to plan what their families look like and if and when they have families on their own timelines,” Klote said.
Klote said the trend is part of a larger, national movement in which individuals are exploring every available option during an uncertain political climate.
“It’s inspiring to see how many folks are taking advantage of this program,” she said. “People of all ages need birth control, including emergency contraception.”
Laura Bellis, the executive director of the Take Control Initiative, said her program has been slammed with the demand.
Take Control Initiative is an Oklahoma-based contraceptive access program.
“Before the election, we were seeing about 25 to 100 orders a day, so like 70 on average a day,” Bellis said. “The day after the election, we saw over 1,000 orders. The day after that, that doubled, and we saw over 2,000, and it continued to climb.”
The organization has since taken down some of its advertisements so it doesn’t exceed capacity.
“It has settled down a bit; it’s more like 600 a day,” Bellis said.
But that uptick isn’t being felt on the ground in Columbia — at least, not at smaller pharmacies like Flow’s Pharmacy and Kilgore’s.
Managers there said they haven’t seen any noticeable shifts in buying trends for Plan B.
Bellis said the national trend reminds her of panic-buying during the pandemic.
“While we did expect the potential for increased demand, we’ve seen this type of thing before — this has just been so much higher than it has been in the past.”
Still, she said she isn’t afraid of a shortage.
“There are enough pharmaceutical brands, and I think there is enough variety there,” she said. “I think more so it just highlights concerns that people have overall over what resources will be available to them in the future.”
Women are also taking to social media to tell others why they should stock up on Plan B.
Earlier this month, TikTok user @_brynn_182, who didn’t wish to disclose her last name, talked about purchasing both emergency contraception and a pregnancy test.
“You could be somebody like me, on birth control, not dating anyone,” she said. “But this is for emergencies … I live in Oklahoma, and I can’t get an abortion super easily if my life depended on it or if I wanted it.”
She told KOMU 8 that she believes everyone should have at least one or two Plan B doses for emergencies considering their shelf life.
“If a shortage does occur, I would hope the people distributing the products would recognize the demand is higher and adjust accordingly,” she said.
And it’s not just women in their teens and 20s requesting emergency contraceptive kits, Bellis said.
“A lot of who we are hearing from and who are reaching out and asking questions to get the emergency contraception have been parents of young people who are worried, and sometimes it’s someone who is not even a teenager yet,” Bellis said.
The Missouri Family Health Council continues to offer kits statewide. Kits can be requested through the council’s website and are shipped directly to individuals.