Online searches for the term “contraception” spiked after the Nov. 5 presidential election — along with related terms about possible bans on the drug.
At 4 a.m. on Nov. 6 — right around the time the news broke that Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump had defeated Democratic Vice President Kamala Harris — Google searches for “contraception” more than doubled, according to Google Trends.
The states where the term was searched the most were all those won by Trump: West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas and Indiana.
These states have introduced almost complete bans or restrictions on abortion.
Related searches include variations of “Is birth control banned,” along with “Will Trump get rid of birth control,” according to Google Trends.
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During his first term, Trump reversed a previous requirement that employers include non-copay contraceptive coverage in their health insurance plans. The 2017 decision, the administration said, was to protect religious freedom and moral sentiment because birth control promotes “risky sexual behavior.”
Nonprofit A Step Ahead Chattanooga, which provides contraception in southeast Tennessee, northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama, shared on Instagram that requests for birth control increased 287% after the election.
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After the Supreme Court annulled the decision Roe v. Wade passed in 2022, more states enacted “trigger bans” that severely limited — or outright banned — access to abortion.
During this year’s elections, voters in some states approved measures to permanently include access to abortion in state constitutions.
In September, Trump, 78, said women “wouldn’t think about abortion anymore” if he won the election “because now it’s where it always had to be, with the States and the voice of the people.”
Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education