Americans Stockpile Abortion Pills Amid Legal Uncertainty

Advance provision requests for abortion pills surge following Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade, raising concerns about access for marginalized groups.

More Americans are stockpiling abortion pills in anticipation of potential pregnancy, with requests for these pills increasing significantly after the Supreme Court's decision to overturn Roe v. Wade was leaked in 2022.
Between September 2021 and April 2023, Aid Access, an organization that mails abortion pills to people across the US, received over 48,000 advance provision requests, with the majority of these requests coming from white women aged 30 or older living in urban areas.
Advance provision requests spiked from an average of 25 per day to nearly 250 per day after the leak of the Supreme Court's decision, and rose again to an average of 172 per day in April 2023 after court rulings created uncertainty about the future availability of mifepristone, a major abortion pill.
Despite the increase in advance provision requests, there are concerns that this service is not reaching those who face the greatest barriers to abortion care, such as people of color and those living in low-income areas.
The Supreme Court is expected to hear a case regarding the future of mifepristone, a major abortion pill, in the summer of 2024.