Americans are stocking up on abortion pills, just in case

The MoJo Daily newsletter, Monday through Friday. [View in browser]( [Mother Jones Daily Newsletter](     January 3, 2024 Did you know you can get abortion pills by mail...when you're not even pregnant? Lots of Americans do—and they have recently stockpiled them in light of uncertainty about the future of abortion access, according to new research [published]( yesterday. This relatively new practice of requesting a prescription for abortion pills before potentially needing them—known as [advance provision](—spiked during two periods of recent unease about the future of abortion access, the study published in JAMA Internal Medicine found. Studying data from the nonprofit organization [Aid Access](, whose doctors prescribe and mail abortion pills to people in all 50 states, researchers found that the average number of daily requests for advance provision increased nearly tenfold—to about 247 a day—in the seven weeks between the [leak]( of the Dobbs draft and when the Supreme Court [issued]( its final decision. The requests subsequently decreased then spiked again last April, when [conflicting rulings]( about the FDA approval of mifepristone thrust abortion pills back into the headlines, leading to an average of about 172 daily requests for advance provision of the pills. (While a lawsuit [challenging]( the FDA approval brought by anti-abortion activists is currently [pending]( before the Supreme Court, abortion pills [remain]( available by mail.) The study's lead author, Abigail Aiken, associate professor of public affairs at the University of Texas, Austin, told me, "It shows people are paying attention” to threats to abortion access, emphasizing that nearly three-quarters of participants cited wanting “to ensure personal health and choice” and “to prepare for possible abortion restrictions” as their reasons for requesting advance provision. Elisa Wells, co-founder of [Plan C](, a website that [provides]( information about accessing abortion pills, sees stocking up on abortion pills as a “reasonable thing to do.” The pills should have a shelf life of several years if stored properly (in their original packaging, and at room temperature), and they already account for more than half of all abortions nationwide. As restrictions increase, that number—and advance provision—is likely to grow. “Every time we’re seeing uncertainty, every time we’re seeing potential legislation coming, that’s when people seem to be reacting most,” Aiken said. “They see the writing on the wall—and that seems to be the biggest motivator.” —Julianne McShane P.S. If you have good taste in reality television, and therefore watch The Real Housewives of Salt Lake City, I just have to ask...what did you think of last night's finale? Are you Team Monica or Team Heather? (Sadly, I've learned we are a house divided on this topic at MoJo.) Is the newly uncovered misdeed equivalent to the actions of the former Housewife who defrauded elderly people? And did the black eye revelation surprise you? [Discuss](. Advertisement [House Bookshop Ad]( [Top Story] [Top Story]( [Americans Are Stockpiling Abortion Pills…Just in Case]( When there is uncertainty "that’s when people seem to be reacting most." BY JULIANNE MCSHANE MOJO MUST-READS BY DANIEL SCHULMAN   The Money Kings: The Epic Story of the Jewish Immigrants Who Transformed Wall Street and Shaped Modern America The incredible saga of the German-Jewish immigrants—with now familiar names like Goldman and Sachs, Kuhn and Loeb, Warburg and Schiff, Lehman and Seligman—who profoundly influenced the rise of modern finance, from New York Times best-selling author Daniel Schulman. [Get The Money Kings here.]( [Trending] [What Claudine Gay's resignation from Harvard means for the rest of us]( BY NIA T. EVANS   [Florida GOP head might have committed "video voyeurism" in his sex scandal]( BY KIERA BUTLER   [Your utility bills may be funding the gas lobby]( BY MEG DUFF   [A tearful farewell to the 21 species we declared extinct in 2023]( BY MAANVI SINGH Advertisement [House Donations Ad]( [Special Feature] [Special Feature]( [How Joe Biden became America's top Israel hawk]( The president once said “Israel could get into a fistfight with this country and we’d still defend" it. That is now clearer than ever. BY NOAH LANARD [Fiercely Independent] Support from readers allows Mother Jones to do journalism that doesn't just follow the pack. [Donate]( Did you enjoy this newsletter? Help us out by [forwarding]( it to a friend or sharing it on [Facebook]( and [Twitter](. [Mother Jones]( [Donate]( [Donate Monthly]( [Subscribe]( This message was sent to {EMAIL}. To change the messages you receive from us, you can [edit your email preferences]( or [unsubscribe from all mailings.]( For advertising opportunities see our online [media kit.]( Were you forwarded this email? [Sign up for Mother Jones' newsletters today.]( [www.MotherJones.com]( PO Box 8539, Big Sandy, TX 75755