Why Americans are stockpiling abortion medication ahead of Trump’s second term

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• John Yang:

  Advocates for reproductive rights won major victories in last month's elections. Voters in seven states approved measures that either expanded or enshrined the right to an abortion and in their constitutions.

  Some women worry about what a second Trump presidency could bring, despite recent comments from the president elect about preserving access to abortion pills. Ali Rogan reports on how they're preparing for the next four years.

• Ali Rogin:

  Since Mr. Trump's reelection, many women and healthcare providers across the U.S. have been stockpiling supplies of abortion pills and emergency contraception. One of the largest suppliers of abortion medication reported that in the first 24 hours after election day, they received 17 times the number of requests they typically get in a day.

  Earlier this month, President elect Trump was asked if he would restrict abortion medication on NBC's Meet the Press.

• Donald Trump, U.S. President-Elect:

  I'll probably stay with exactly what I've been saying for the last two years, and the answer is no.

• Kristen Welker, NBC News Host:

  You commit to that?

• Donald Trump:

  Well, I commit. I mean, do things change? I think they change.

• Ali Rogin:

  Elissa Nadworny covers reproductive rights and abortion for NPR. Elissa, thank you so much for being here.

• Elissa Nadworny, NPR:

  Glad to be here.

• Ali Rogin:

  We just heard President-Elect Trump saying he would not restrict access to abortion pills. He also told TIME magazine recently that he would instruct the FDA not to interfere with access to abortion pills. And yet people are still stockpiling these medications. Why is that?

• Elissa Nadworny:

  Well, the women I talk to who are accessing these abortion medications, usually through telehealth, like online and over text message, they're worried about what happened during the first Trump presidency. And so I think on the campaign trail, Trump kind of was very wishy washy about what he would do on abortion and reproductive rights.

  And so when I asked these women and these providers that question, they said, well, look at what happened during the first Trump presidency. Look at the Supreme Court justices that he appointed. Look at what happened with the Supreme Court's Dobbs case, of course, that overturned Roe v. Wade. Let's prep for that, basically.

• Ali Rogin:

  And of course, there does seem to be a difference between what President Trump is saying now and what he did in his first term. But what do we know about how he's going to approach this issue in his second term as it relates to his first term?

• Elissa Nadworny:

  Well, we of course have what he says, which is that he's going to leave medication abortion alone. And people access medication abortion the majority of the time. So about 60 percent of abortions in the U.S. are done by these two pillars. So we know what he said.

  But I think it's also really important to note what he could do, which a lot of abortions rights activists have kind of flagged, to say he could restrict medication through the FDA. He could enact something called the Comstock Act, which is a law from the 1800s. It's anti-obscenity law that could essentially be used to stop the flow of abortion drugs, abortion products that are helpful in abortion procedures.

  So I think, you know, there's a difference between what he said and I think what legal scholars are watching for what abortion rights opponents and abortion rights activists are saying he could do.

• Ali Rogin:

  Sure. And of course, after Roe v. Wade was overturned, this issue got turned over to the states.

• Elissa Nadworny:

  Yes.

• Ali Rogin:

  So how are these battles playing out in states across the country, and how might that be affected by Trump taking office again?

• Elissa Nadworny:

  Well, I think that is fascinating what's at play here. I mean, basically, America is a patchwork of different laws of abortion access. You have states with near total bans, and you have states that are not only expanding access, but then protecting providers who are sending pills to places with bans.

  The other thing that's at play, of course, we saw 10 states vote on abortion rights at the ballot box this November. One of those states was Missouri. So they were a state that had a near total abortion ban, and they voted to essentially expand abortion access until viability, which is around 24 weeks. That amendment, that constitutional amendment which passed is in the state constitution right now.

  The catch is, of course, there haven't actually been any abortions in Missouri since that happened, because there are laws on the books in Missouri banning the practice, restricting the practice, and a judge essentially has to say those laws can't be enforced for the doctors to begin providing abortions.

• Ali Rogin:

  Fascinating. Complicated. Very complicated. Very, very interesting and something to watch. Earlier this week, we saw an attorney general in Texas file a lawsuit against a doctor in New York for prescribing abortion medication to a patient who resided in Texas. This is the first of its kind. But do you anticipate we're going to see more cases like this?

• Elissa Nadworny:

  I think we will see more cases like this. And this case was absolutely expected. I mean, I've been talking to providers in places that have these shield laws that protect providers. Massachusetts, New York, like the doctor that was sued, they're expecting this.

  I mean, this is essentially a showdown between state laws. So this is Texas basically saying to New York, we have very — we have laws that contradict each other. What do we do? Is it a crime to basically break the law in Texas if you reside in New York where it says abortion is legal?

• Ali Rogin:

  Fascinating. The main concern for a lot of women is that President Trump might actually end up replacing restricting access to abortion medication, but then not stop there and pursue emergency contraception, other types of birth control. What authority does he have to do that sort of thing?

• Elissa Nadworny:

  Well, I think the power lies in his cabinet and it lies in who runs HHS, who runs the FDA, and kind of what restrictions they can do on the flow and the access to these medications. So I think that's kind of the thing to watch as these confirmation hearings happen and as Trump picks the people around him that are going to shape the policy that are going to impact real people on the ground.

• Ali Rogin:

  Fascinating stuff, something we're definitely going to be watching closely. Elissa Nadworny covering reproductive rights and abortion for NPR. Thank you so much for coming in and breaking this down for us.

• Elissa Nadworny:

  You bet.