Plan C

Plan C is a non-profit organization and campaign that provides educational resources and information to increase access to medical abortion in the United States.[1][2] It was founded in 2015 by Francine Coeytaux, Elisa Wells, and Amy Merrill as a project under the fiscal sponsorship of the National Women's Health Network.[3] The organization works towards expanding access to medical abortion through the distribution of mifepristone and misoprostol at-home abortion pills ordered from the internet and delivered through the mail.[4]

As of 2019, there were dozens of websites selling abortion pills, and the Plan C website had been receiving over 50,000 hits per month from individuals across all 50 states in search of information on abortion pills.[4][5]

In April 2020, at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the medical community expedited the adoption of "no-test" protocols, which facilitated online abortion care, telehealth start-ups, and more clinics serving patients online.[6] As certain states deemed abortions nonessential medicine, and the majority of the country was subjected to "safer at home" orders restricting access to basic medical care, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) temporarily lifted restrictions on shipping mifepristone.[7] During this time, Plan C issued a "call to providers" to inform the medical community of the growing need and the opportunity to serve patients by offering telehealth abortion services.[8] Several providers launched startups, including Abortion on Demand, Choix, Hey Jane, among others.[8]

In 2018, Plan C played a significant role in the launch of the CHAT study (California Home Abortion by Telehealth) in which researchers at the University of California, San Francisco conducted a study to gain a deeper understanding of the experiences of individuals who utilize virtual clinics that serve patients throughout the United States.[9] This study was a crucial step towards not only normalizing telehealth services and online access to pills but also in documenting and researching their effectiveness and safety, and validating them as a viable option for individuals seeking reproductive healthcare.[9]

The Plan C organization was the subject of a documentary film of the same name, Plan C (film), which premiered at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival on January 23, 2023.[10] The film focuses on Plan C's efforts to expand access to abortion across the United States via the distribution of at-home abortion pills ordered from the internet and delivered through the mail.[10][11]