Google Searches for 'Birth Control' Spike After Donald Trump Wins 2024 Presidential Election

Mar. 15, 2025

Stock image of birth control.Photo:Getty

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Online searches for “birth control” skyrocketed after theNov. 5 presidential election— along with related terms about potential bans for the medication.At 4 a.m. on Nov. 6 — right aroundwhen news brokethat Republican presidential candidateDonald Trumpdefeated the Democratic nominee, Vice PresidentKamala Harris— Google searches for “birth control” more than doubled, according toGoogle Trends.The states where the term was searched the most were all ones that Trump won: West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas and Indiana.Those states have institutednear-totalbansorrestrictionson abortions.Related searches include variations of the phrase “Is birth control being banned,” along with “Is Trump going to get rid of birth control," per Google Trends.Stock image of a woman using a cell phone.GettyDuring his first term in office,Trump rolled back a previous requirementthat employers include birth control coverage in their health insurance plans without a co-pay. The 2017 decision, the administration said, was to protect religious freedom and moral sensibilities as birth control promotes “risky sexual behavior.”The nonprofit organizationA Step Ahead Chattanooga, which provides contraception to Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama, sharedon Instagramthat requests for birth control were up 287% following the election.Stock image of birth control pills.GettyNever miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.After the Supreme Court’s decision tooverturnRoe v. Wadewas handed down in 2022, multiple states enacted“trigger bans”that severely limited — or outright banned — access to abortion.During this year’s election, voters insome states approved measuresto permanently enshrine abortion access into the state’s constitutions.In September, Trump, 78, said that women “will no longer be thinkingabout abortion” if he won the election “because it is now where it always had to be, with the States, and a vote of the people.”

Online searches for “birth control” skyrocketed after theNov. 5 presidential election— along with related terms about potential bans for the medication.

At 4 a.m. on Nov. 6 — right aroundwhen news brokethat Republican presidential candidateDonald Trumpdefeated the Democratic nominee, Vice PresidentKamala Harris— Google searches for “birth control” more than doubled, according toGoogle Trends.

The states where the term was searched the most were all ones that Trump won: West Virginia, Kentucky, Mississippi, Arkansas and Indiana.

Those states have institutednear-totalbansorrestrictionson abortions.

Related searches include variations of the phrase “Is birth control being banned,” along with “Is Trump going to get rid of birth control,” per Google Trends.

Stock image of a woman using a cell phone.Getty

During his first term in office,Trump rolled back a previous requirementthat employers include birth control coverage in their health insurance plans without a co-pay. The 2017 decision, the administration said, was to protect religious freedom and moral sensibilities as birth control promotes “risky sexual behavior.”

The nonprofit organizationA Step Ahead Chattanooga, which provides contraception to Southeast Tennessee, Northwest Georgia and Northeast Alabama, sharedon Instagramthat requests for birth control were up 287% following the election.

Stock image of birth control pills.Getty

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

After the Supreme Court’s decision tooverturnRoe v. Wadewas handed down in 2022, multiple states enacted“trigger bans”that severely limited — or outright banned — access to abortion.

During this year’s election, voters insome states approved measuresto permanently enshrine abortion access into the state’s constitutions.

In September, Trump, 78, said that women “will no longer be thinkingabout abortion” if he won the election “because it is now where it always had to be, with the States, and a vote of the people.”

source: people.com