Is it safe to buy the abortion pills online? Here’s what you need to know

Donald Trump is a little over two months away from being sworn in as the 45th President of the United States. Since the election, a lot of people are living in fear for some of the rights they’ve been afforded in the last few decades — especially when it comes to healthcare, and especially especially when it comes to reproductive healthcare. Since Hillary Clinton’s concession, many women are trying to figure out if they need to stock up on abortion pills.

And to be fair, there are good reasons for feeling a bit alarmed about our ability to have access to things like birth control, the morning-after pill, and abortions. Vice President-elect Mike Pence has been very vocal in his opposition of women’s access rights, specifically access to abortion and birth control.

Trump’s position to women and access to abortion is unclear, as he’s made pro-choice and anti-abortion comments in the past.

During his election cycle, Trump has made many troubling claims about women’s issues, including repealing Roe v Wade. With these troubling claims, The Guardian columnist Lindy West, wrote in a New York Times essay, that women need to stockpile abortion pills.

Even the notion that access to abortion could be threatened is enough to put fear into the eyes of millions of women in the U.S. This fear makes it even more important to know that it is impossible for abortion pills to be purchased legally in the United States.

Yesterday, Hannah Smothers of Cosmopolitan wrote a long essay about access to birth control pills and how people could come across the pills in the wake of a Trump presidency. She explains various ways for women to come across the medicines, Misoprostol and Mifepristone, and how the two medicines work.

Despite the very real and valid fear women may be feeling, Professor Daniel Grossman from the Department of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Services at the University of California San Francisco is optimistic that access to abortions will remain legal, even with a Trump presidency. He said,

"My belief is that Congress, and some state legislatures, may feel emboldened under the Trump administration to pass more restrictions on abortion access, but the reality is we just got a very good ruling from the Supreme Court in Whole Woman's Health v. Hellerstedt. I'm actually optimistic that, even though they may try to oppose more restrictions on abortion access, litigators will have a lot of tools to go after those laws."

We encourage women to explore their options in accessing abortion pills and advocate for their right to accessing abortions. Donate to organizations like Planned Parenthood and making your voice too loud to be ignored.