Have you asked your colleagues? Or do they not wish to admit to it? Or is it just not discussed? I promise, they are being prescribed prophylactically. Perhaps you should consider it.
IME, long term reversible implants are becoming quite popular too
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We talk openly. I have friends who are abortion providers, and they donât indicate this is going on at all. You need to follow special rules to prescribe Mifeprex (mifepristone, RU-486) and you would be in serious trouble if you broke those rules. Now prescribing methotrexate has fewer regulations, but stillâŠ
Well, different states must treat it differently. In many places it can be prescribed by telehealth. And of course in some countries it is OTC anyway.
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I donât think it can be overstated that these sweeping abortion bans in these abortion-banned states will affect ALL women; pro-reproductive freedom women, anti-abortion women, planned pregnancy women, unplanned pregnancy women. When doctors are currently not providing/canât provide the type of care to a pregnant woman for fear of lawsuits or criminal actions, that is extremely frightening. Itâs already happening in cases where a woman experiencing an early stage miscarriage of a planned pregnancy has gone to the emergency room and has been told to go home and wait it out & come back only if the bleeding is âlife-threateningâ because they, as the doctor, are terrified to prescribe pills to help the miscarriage along. And what person, in that condition (eminent miscarry), can assess that; particularly in a margin of time that something could become âlife-threateningâ? So yes, blue state politics/red state politics have been on our minds for college decisions for our daughter for the past 2 years in her search and Roe was the nail in the coffin to the only red state uni she had remaining on her list.
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There is helpful info at plancpills dot org. Some people ordered a kit the day the decision was announced and received them quickly.
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Iâm extremely grateful my kid is going to college in a state that protects reproductive rights and that we live in another. While most of the south was always off-limits to her (she hates the heat with a passion, and hot starts at about 70 degrees to her) she seriously considered schools in mid-west states that are now not safe for a woman of reproductive age (including her second choice school). While she could always travel home for most things an ectopic pregnancy or an incomplete miscarriage are potentially life-threatening now in those states. If she were applying to college now instead of last year. I would strongly urge her to find other alternatives. While itâs not up to me where she chooses to live as an adult I canât imagine she wonât take that account. I hope other peopleâs daughters also stay safe.
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To be clear, though, in countries where it can be obtained âOTCâ (for example India, China, Mexico) it is not actually legal to sell it OTC. Legally it is supposed to be under medical supervision only with prescription, but pharmacies in these countries are poorly regulated and there is a huge black market. If my information is old, and there are new laws, I would be glad to learn about them. And nowhere in the US is it legal to have around âjust in case.â * If there are doctors here who are willing to risk their licenses to skirt this law, they may be easy to find in your area, but are not easy to find anywhere around where I live. So sending daughters off to college with âPlan Câ in their suitcase is not actually a viable solution for most parents. If any parent DOES try this route, I strongly caution them to fully understand the risks of these meds. They cause what is essentially a miscarriage, and like ANY miscarriage, complications such as infection and excessive bleeding can occur. In addition, daughters who are Rh negative are going to need to get a Rhogam shot afterwards (and thus go to a clinic or ER.)
*ETA: ColdWombot links to a site below where doctors are indeed willing to prescribe for âfuture useâ and cites reports of it working. So I stand corrected.
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I have two Dâs and it will absolutely affect their graduate school choices, assuming they go of course. (knock on wood) 
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One plan would be to keep such pills at home with the parent as a true emergency option. Obviously, traveling to a place to obtain a legal abortion is the best option. Our sons will know that they or any of their friends over 18 can come to us and we will personally make sure they get to a place where itâs legal to have it done. Since thatâs close to us, itâs an easy solution. More complicated for people without legal access nearby.
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Most medical professionals I know agree that RU 486 would be OTC here currently were it not for the political concerns. I remember the same side effects concerns being raised for years about things such as Claritin, back when it required a prescription. I am comfortable that it is a safe and effective method ( and I guess all those doctors in states allowing it by telehealth and by nurse-practioners, midwives, etc must agree), but of course, some might personally want a higher level of medical support.
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Thanks! Good to know. I did some poking around, and it looks like there are some providers willing to prescribe âfor future use.â Totally legal gray zone (not even gray zone in many places) but I do have admiration for the bravery.
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â As California pushes for accessible abortions after the overturn of Roe V. Wade, the University of California (UC) and California State University (CSU) will be providing abortion pills on all campuses starting Jan. 1. â
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Without a doubt statistically safer than continuing a pregnancy. Not as safe as Claritin, but as safe as any miscarriage! I agree that the fact that RU 486 is not more easily available is due to politics.
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You can google what @roycroftmom is saying and find several sites online. Iâm surprised as a doctor you havenât come across this at all. I looked it up after the recent decision.
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And yet our Gov. just went to visit family in MontanaâŠone of the no-no States. Said it was a private visit. But of course included State security, travel (hintâŠhe didnât fly Frontier airlines), planning by those employed by the State.
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Yes and no. You go online, find one of these sites, and enter your state. You find there exist 6 doctors who will send you abortion pills without requiring you to go to a regular abortion clinic for consultation. Only 1 of these doctors is willing to prescribe âfor future useâ and links to a disclaimer that it is not strictly legal. This doctor does still require a telehealth visit and charges for it (not just for the pills.) This is a very different situation than roycroftmomâs situation of âmany doctors will prescribe them prophylacticallyâ as if you can just ask for them when you bring your daughter into her primary for her pre-college well visit. That may have been possible for her, but is not happening here to the best of my knowledge.
ETA: this was supposed to be in response to Htas. Anyway, I guess my larger concern is I donât think the availability of Plan C (reportedly easy to get by some, not so easy to get for others perhaps) is the answer to unavailability of abortion services in certain states for college age kids.
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It is not the first time our gov and other members of this family donât follow the rules they set up. Take the Covid lockdown haircut and French Laundry incidents. But when something like overturning Roe vs Wade comes to plate it becomes a single issue voting
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The issue isnât just a matter of differing beliefs. For a female student this could be a a factor which has life changing or possible life threatening consequences.
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For us, several factors weigh into the decision of where to send our kids to college. For example:
- total COA, factoring in financial aid. We are in an income bracket where we pretty much would only qualify for merit aid, but we cannot afford to pay $50k/year for college. We can afford COA for an in state public. So if Kid 1 or Kid 2 want to go out of state or to a private school, they need merit aid to make it equivalent to attend at a in state COA.
- ability of the kid to get admitted
- does the college have the sort of majors/programs that Kid 1 or Kid 2 are interested in
- whatâs the general city/town vibe in the immediate area surrounding the college? Is it like Mayberry? Or like USC, where thereâs security fencing around the entire campus and if you venture outside the campus walls, youâre taking your life into your hands? Or is it like San Francisco, with all sorts of additional rampant crime (day time car break ins & nobody does anything, stabbings, mentally ill people pooping on the public sidewalk) & a police force that wonât enforce anything? Or somewhere in between these extremes?
- how hard is it to get to the college from where we live? A dayâs car ride? Or 1 plane ride? Or an all day plane journey with changing planes + a long car ride afterwards in order to reach your destination?
- Are âin networkâ doctors available in that area for our health insurance plan?
- If attending the college will require a plane ride to/from for Kid 1 or Kid 2, is it easy to get to the airport w/o a car? In other words, about an hourâs drive and thereâs airport transfer options that you can book ahead of time?
For our family, we are totally ruling out anything in CA, NYC, Chicago, Portland, Seattle, & New Orleans because of all of the above factors. The Roe vs Wade decision is not playing a deciding factor at all. Iâve already directed Kid 1 & Kid 2 to double up on birth control methods if they plan on engaging in âextracurricular activitiesâ with somebody. 
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I think the entire premise for most women is what is available and how is it available. For many women, the online âdoctorâ prescribing things is 100% better than an in person visit. Some may prefer their physician. Donât know about all parts of the US, but I also looked this up recently and in some areas more women are taking Plan C/ RU 486 ( and multiple combinations) than there are surgical abortions. I looked up France as it was a very big deal there in 1987! when it originally came out. And it appears to have come to the US in 2000. I wanted to know what had happened in the meantime.
Turns out, not a lot. Itâs not over the counter in the US, it still requires a prescription and many women ( and doctors) appear to not even know itâs available. Iâm not going to say more as I am a person who likes to be well informed about resources and that has already been covered upthread.
And yes, I think someone also covered that it should be taken with care and access to a physician if needed.
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