For many women on campus who voted for Vice President Kamala Harris, the next few days were filled with anxiety, worry and a decision to get an intrauterine device.
For Kat Sattel, a sophomore at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, waking up Wednesday morning meant calling her mother to discuss contraceptive options.
“I had a phone call with my mom where I discussed how fearful I was,” Sattel said. “And by that afternoon, I had made an appointment with UHS to have a consultation about [getting an IUD].”
Demand for IUDs and other forms of birth control increased nearly 22% in the 30 days after President-elect Donald Trump’s 2016 election, a 2019 study found. This election has shown similar, if not elevated, results of the same phenomenon. Searches for “IUD appointment” increased 100% on Nov. 5, and searches for ‘planned parenthood’ jumped 40% in the 24 hours after the election.
Sattel cited the potential repeal of the Affordable Care Act by the Trump administration, an Obama administration policy that makes the birth control pill free, as the main reason for her decision.
“It is not an easy expense, to have to pay for birth control every three months,” Sattel said. “The reason that I want to get an IUD is because of how long it lasts and that it would be longer than any presidential term.”
Sexual health company Winx Health reported a 966% increase in sales of their emergency contraceptive pill in the 60 hours following the election. Planned Parenthood reported appointments for IUDs across the nation increased by 760% in the 24 hours after the election, birth control implants saw a 350% increase and vasectomy appointments increased by 1200%.
In Wisconsin, there has long been worry about a ban on emergency contraception, but the elections of Democratic Gov. Tony Evers and liberal-leaning Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Janet Protasiewicz have kept them at bay.
In Wisconsin, calls to Planned Parenthood have increased since the election, Analiese Eicher, director of communications for Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin told The Daily Cardinal. “Our community-facing folks and our health centers are receiving a lot of questions, and there's a lot of uncertainty,” she said.
UW-Madison junior Annabel Allen said she decided to get an IUD earlier in the summer because of the uncertainty surrounding who would win the election.
“‘I should definitely just get an IUD with the upcoming election,’” Allen said she remembered thinking. “‘Because I don't want to take any chances.’”
Over the summer, Allen, a Louisiana native, visited her home of New Orleans and said it made her feel the stakes of the election even more. Louisiana is currently a state with a full abortion ban, except in cases where the mother’s life is in danger or the pregnancy is “medically futile.”
“Being home and being in Louisiana obviously makes those issues feel a little bit more present,” Allen said. “When Roe v. Wade got overturned, it was like Planned Parenthood disappeared off the face of the earth at home, and I just think about all the women who don't get that reproductive health care anymore, which is really disappointing and scary.”
But Allen had her IUD placed incorrectly and experienced severe side effects, such as hormonal mood swings, irregular bleeding and painful cramps for the six months she had it before ultimately removing it.
A 2014 UW-Stout study reported 78% of women who had never given birth experienced moderate to severe pain during their IUD placement.
Just months ago, in late August, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention updated their recommendations and now urge health care providers to counsel patients about pain management before the procedure.
“You can just feel your body trying to reject it, which is such an odd feeling,” Allen said. “It made me sad, because I was like, ‘Why do I have to do this?’ I'm glad that I have this option, and it was easy and it's accessible, but I just was like, ‘Why do I even have to do this in the first place?’”
Dissonance between the severe pain felt from IUDs and the benefits it provides has led to disillusionment in some cases. But birth control has always been a form of reproductive autonomy in the face of what many women see as male apathy to the consequences of unprotected sex.
And, with young male voters’ rightward shift this election, more women are getting IUDs as a way to protect themselves and their reproductive rights.
“Prior to the election, I was speaking to a lot of guys our age who go to this university, and they were very secretive and almost ashamed of if they were voting for Trump,” Sattel said. “The second that he won the election, they’ve come out of the woodwork saying blatantly misogynistic, blatantly homophobic things. It's really scary to know that they feel like they have that power and feel able to get away with that without any sort of repercussions.”
One viral tweet that circulated after the election and has become a phrase used to troll women upset about the results of the election came from neo-Nazi Nick Fuentes reading, “Your body, my choice. Forever.”
Allen said, like Sattel, she’s noticed men saying extremely “disrespectful and dehumanizing” statements online since Trump’s election.
“Clearly, I've been stuck in this little bubble,” Allen said. “There are lots of people and lots of men out there who have no respect for women or their bodies.”
But the election results and the emboldening of the anti-choice cause does not mean hope is lost, Eicher said. PPWI resumed performing abortions in Milwaukee and Madison clinics in late 2023, despite the 1848 ban still being in effect.
“We are open and provide this full spectrum of reproductive and sexual health care, including abortion. The Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin doors remain open,” Eicher said.
Annika Bereny is a Senior Staff Writer and the former Special Pages Editor for The Daily Cardinal. She is a History and Journalism major and has written in-depth campus news, specializing in protest policy, free speech and historical analysis. She has also written for state and city news. Follow her on Twitter at @annikabereny.
