WA Planned Parenthood rolls out new abortion pill service

A new Planned Parenthood service now offers Washingtonians the option to order abortion pills before they're pregnant.

The program, rolled out in Washington and Hawai'i last week, aims to provide people with mifepristone and misoprostol in advance so they're prepared if and when they need the medication. The initiative builds on efforts by the national organization to increase access to the common abortion pills, which are already available through telehealth prescriptions and by mail in many states. With this service, however, being pregnant is not a requirement.

It's an opportunity to help people plan and be prepared for a time in the future where they might need to have access to medication abortion and may anticipate facing challenges," said Dr. Colleen McNicholas, chief of clinical transformation and medical affairs at the Planned Parenthood affiliate that serves Western Washington, Hawai'i, Idaho, Alaska, Indiana and Kentucky.

Planned Parenthood is adding this service as access to the medication faces ongoing legal challenges, debates that this month reached the U.S. Supreme Court. The nation's highest court restored broad availability to mifepristone in early May, blocking a lower-court ruling that had imposed new restrictions on mailing medication abortion prescriptions. Since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in 2022, allowing states to enforce abortion bans, access to the care has become much more difficult in many parts of the country.

"When people know they don't want to be pregnant, timing is important," McNicholas continued, noting medication abortion is available for people in the first trimester of their pregnancy.

Ordering abortion pills in advance is not a new concept. Telemedicine abortion providers that serve patients throughout the country, like Aid Access and Plan C, have offered for this care for several years, NPR reported. And studies show interest is growing.

Anna Fiastro, a researcher at the University of Washington School of Medicine who focuses on sexual and reproductive health, said surveys have found the idea has gained popularity especially in places where abortion is no longer legal and among people who have had previous abortions.

"There's people out there who don't want to go through the full clinic experience before just taking the pills and moving forward," Fiastro said. "I think there's quite a few populations, even if you live around the corner from an abortion provider, (for whom) this would be a really private option and reduce all the barriers to accessing different types of care."

Although medication abortion has become much more common to end early pregnancies in the last 20 years - now accounting for nearly two-thirds of all abortions in the U.S., according to some counts - access isn't always easy, she said. Even in states where the care remains legal, transportation, cost and privacy concerns can pose challenges.

"This is another tool we can give people to help control their futures and to feel like they are the ones who are in charge of that," McNicholas said.

Through the Planned Parenthood service called "Just In Case Abortion Pills," people with existing appointments can add this service onto that visit for $100, or pay $150 for a separate appointment. Financial support is also available for those who need it, McNicholas said.

Patients can order the abortion pills in person at a Planned Parenthood health center, or during a telehealth visit, in which case they'd receive the medication in the mail.

"It is the exact same medications we would be using for folks who are accessing abortion care at the time of pregnancy," McNicholas said.

That would include one round of medication abortion per visit: mifepristone, which stops the pregnancy from progressing, and three doses of misoprostol, the second medication that empties the uterus, she said.

The pills will last for about two years from the time they're dispensed, she said. Patients 18 and older are eligible.

Before a provider prescribes the medication, they will also walk patients through instructions on how to use the pills and answer any questions, McNicholas said.

Because ending an early pregnancy is "relatively uncomplicated," medication abortion is considered to be appropriate for most people, she added. She noted some exceptions, such as if a patient has an ectopic pregnancy - a pregnancy outside the uterus.

"But the truth is, the overwhelming number of people who are accessing abortion are not going to have any contraindications to using the pills," McNicholas said.

When asked about potential impacts on the supply of pills for people who have current unwanted pregnancies, McNicholas said she wasn't worried about running low, even if there's a high uptake of the "Just In Case" service.

"Mifepristone and misoprostol are medications that we use really frequently, so I'm not concerned," she said.

Some critics have objected to the practice of advanced prescription, saying it encourages "stockpiling" of the pills and eliminates doctor oversight, according to NPR. But reproductive health experts, including Fiastro, point to research that shows patients are able to read instructions on the box and take the medication safely.

Patients can also always reach out to Planned Parenthood providers if they have questions, McNicholas said.

The advanced prescription model will likely continue to expand as more patients learn about it and other providers introduce the service, which will hopefully keep reducing stigma and misinformation around abortion care, Fiastro said.

"In the same way medication abortion has clarified what an early abortion can look like, I think advanced provision does the same thing, but perhaps even a step further, to say this is very safe, very effective and something you can take into your own hands and have control over," Fiastro said.

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This story was originally published May 25, 2026 at 6:37 AM.