Mental Healthcare, Medical Abortion Demands Rise Amid Election

November 12, 2024

Orders for medical abortion soars to 600% reproductive health platform Wisp, with a 1,000% rise in emergency contraceptive sales.

Following the 2024 presidential election, which landed Donald Trump in the White House for a second term, the demand from Americans for mental healthcare appointments and orders for birth control and medical abortion has increased.

Fast Company reported data from Zocdoc, an online booking service for medical appointments, which showed a 22% increase in mental health appointments the day after the election. Calls for mental healthcare more than doubled for Lyra Health, the leading global provider of workforce mental healthcare. The company identified nearly half of its 24/7 helpline patients as first-time callers.

Orders for medical abortion skyrocketed to 600% on Nov. 5, according to sexual and reproductive health platform Wisp. The company saw a nearly 1,000% increase in emergency contraceptive sales the day after the election. “The appointment of Trump as president-elect has caused a further sense of uncertainty for women’s reproductive rights,” said Monica Cepak, CEO of Wisp. The company reported a 1,650% increase in emergency contraceptive sales from new customers. “These stats are showing that women are stockpiling these offerings in anticipation of further restrictions being introduced,” Cepak added.

As previously mentioned by BLACK ENTERPRISE, following the overturn of Roe v. Wade in 2022, amendments related to abortion rights were among the more prevalent concerns for Americans leading up to the 2024 presidential election. According to NBC News exit polls, November election ballots across 10 states, including Florida, Montana, Colorado, and Nebraska, included abortion initiatives. Voters showed strong support for abortion in states like Arizona, Maryland, New York, and Nevada as they sought to protect reproductive rights.

Reproductive advocates told Word In Black what a Trump win could mean for Black women in America, who reportedly have higher rates of maternal mortality compared to their white counterparts. Kelly Blanchard, president of the global nonprofit research organization for sexual and reproductive health, IBIS Reproductive Health, believes Kamala Harris was “a real champion for sexual and reproductive health rights and justice.” Under the incoming Trump administration, Power to Decide Senior Policy Manager Monica Edwards fears “this Project 2025 document will now be the playbook used to ban contraception, ban abortion, and ban reproductive health rights and justice broadly.”

BE noted a report released in May from the National Partnership for Women & Families (NPWF) and In Our Own Voice: National Black Women’s Reproductive Justice Agenda, which revealed that out of the 11.8 million Black women of childbearing age across the nation, seven million reside in states with enacted or planned abortion restrictions.

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