Last week’s Supreme Court decision to overturn Roe v. Wade — the landmark 1973 case that federally protected a person’s right to have an abortion — has already resulted in abortion bans in seven states with more bans and restrictions expected to follow. Many are wondering what this means for continued access to emergency contraception, including the morning-after pill and copper IUDs (these differ from hormonal IUDs typically used for long-term birth control), both of which help prevent pregnancy after unprotected sex.
How to Get Emergency Contraception
Getting a copper IUD will require a visit to a health care provider. You can call your doctor, a family planning clinic, or Planned Parenthood if you want one, but you'll need to do so quickly in order to ensure you can get an appointment within 120 hours of having unprotected sex. However, most morning-after pills are available over the counter, without a prescription at pharmacies, drugstores, and grocery stores. While you'll need a prescription for ella, specifically, you don't necessarily need to visit a health care provider in person to get it.
Some online pharmacies, including Nurx, provide ella and generic emergency contraception pills after a virtual medical consultation. The bonus of using online service Nurx is that a patient who needs prescription-only ella can note on their order whether or not it is urgent (meaning that unprotected sex has already occurred), or “if they’re getting it to have on hand for the future,” says Varsha Rao, head of Nurx at Thirty Madison. Stix (which manufactures Restart, a levonorgestrel pill comparable to Plan B), Wisp, and Mark Cuban’s Cost Plus Drug Company, are other online options for ordering emergency contraception pills.
Should You Buy Emergency Contraception Now Just In Case?
Unsurprisingly, after the draft opinion of the Supreme Court’s ruling on Roe v. Wade was leaked in May 2022, Nurx saw a 300 percent increase in requests for emergency contraception to have “on hand” for future use, and that number has continued to increase since the Supreme Court officially overturned Roe v. Wade, says Rao. (FYI, most brands of emergency contraception have a shelf life of a few years, so you can buy them before you need them, but you’ll want to double-check the expiration date in the event you need to take them.)
While you might be tempted to stock up on the morning-after pill now just in case you might need it down the line, experts agree it’s important to not go overboard. Less than a week after Roe v. Wade was overturned, CVS, Rite Aid, and Amazon began to limit the number of emergency contraception pills someone can buy in order to avoid a shortage caused by stockpiling. Nurx’s initial uptick in sales led to the company limiting purchases to two per person, but it is now allowing five per person, because it has “plenty of supply” and wants people to be able to order more if needed, adds Rao.
"It may be tempting to hoard mass amounts of Plan B, but because they expire, stockpiling isn't worth it," says Dr. Shepherd. "This can also lead to a shortage for others that need it. As of now, there is no concern that Plan B will no longer be available at some point, so it's best to purchase only as needed."
