When abortion restrictions are in the news, as they have been for several weeks, research shows that many Americans take that as a signal to stock up on abortion medications even if they're not pregnant.
Now, for the first time, a Planned Parenthood affiliate is offering what's called the "advance provision" of abortion medication. The initiative, shared exclusively with NPR, launched Thursday and is called "Just In Case Abortion Pills." It means people can have the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostol on their shelf to be used in the future if they want to end an early pregnancy.
"As evidence supporting this model of care has continued to grow, and with supportive policy environments in Washington and in Hawai'i, this really is the right time for us to step into this space," says Rebecca Gibron, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood Great Northwest, Hawai'i, Alaska, Indiana and Kentucky.
A range of telehealth organizations have offered prescriptions of abortion medication in advance for the past several years. Elisa Wells, co-founder of the website about medication abortion called Plan C, says this move by a Planned Parenthood affiliate is significant.