Health company sees 300% spike in emergency contraceptive requests following Roe v. Wade leak
WASHINGTON - Telehealth company Nurx has seen a spike in requests for emergency contraception driven by fears that the landmark Roe v. Wade case could be overturned.
Since Monday, there has been a 300% spike in requests to have emergency contraceptives, such as Plan B, "on hand," Nurx CEO Varsha Rao told FOX Business. That's on top of the hundreds of requests the company gets on a normal basis, she added.
Nurx provides specialized, personalized health care services, including prescribing birth control, testing for sexually transmitted infections and HIV prevention, to over a million patients remotely.
The company's provider said this is the biggest spike in emergency contraceptive requests it has ever seen.
Emergency contraceptives are not an abortion pill and can't stop a pregnancy, Rao says. Instead, it stops ovulation from occurring and should be taken as soon as possible.
Nurx only recommends it in an emergency. However, requests are flooding in, with one patient saying they put in a request "just in case" as a result of the political climate.
Rao doesn't see this abating, either.
If Roe V. Wade, which legalized abortion nationwide, is overturned, individual states will be allowed to aggressively restrict or outright ban abortions.
Rao says the company is concerned that a reversal of Roe could eventually impact birth control access as well.
It's a fear Nurx patients share as well.
"Not trying to sound crazy, but what will happen if Roe v. Wade is overturned? Will I still be able to get birth control through you guys?" Rao recalled one patient asking.
Rao says Nurx is a female-focused company, and "any actions that limit, in our view, access to any type of health care for women is a step backwards."
The company is in the midst of trying to ease patient concerns while doing everything it can to make birth control accessible. Though, its primary focus recently has been on making emergency contraceptives accessible.
To do so, the company has enabled overnight shipping for emergency contraception and is making sure that it is well-staffed, so it can "respond to requests on a very timely basis," she said.
"When you talk about health care, you can't ignore women's health. It is inextricably linked," Rao added.