The Missouri Family Health Council saw a spike in emergency contraception kits following election day. To keep up, volunteers gathered Wednesday in Jefferson City to help build more.
The health council hosts a free program that mails kits to anyone who requests them online. The kits contain two emergency contraception pills, as well as condoms and sexual health information pamphlets.
Health Council officials said people should check the contraceptive pills’ expiration date. They advise people to speak with their doctors to see which contraception options are the best fit for each. Some pills’ effectiveness may vary depending on the person’s weight.
While the kit-building events hapen twice a month, this is the first one since the team saw a spike in requests following this year's election.
Leslie Klote is the MFHC's communications manager.
“We really believe everyone should have the right to plan families on their own timeline,” Klote said. “Given the election results and the uncertainty folks are feeling, it’s just really good to come together with the community.”
Some of the volunteers who attended were worried about that uncertainty surrounding the election’s results.
Becky Bixby came to Jefferson City from Camden County, in Southwest Missouri. She’s a grandmother of seven who said she was worried about what reproductive healthcare will look like for them as they grow.
“In my youth, I made a choice and it is shocking to me that those former rights were removed,” Bixby said. “So now I’m trying to do something to help my children.”
Like Bixby, Sue Gibson, a Cole County resident, also volunteered to help others access family planning services.
Gibson said she saw patients, friends and family impacted by the HIV epidemic when she was a nurse in Texas. She said that helped fuel her call to activism.
“To me there was no alternative except to fight,” Gibson said. “We all have to jump in and I’m prepared to do it.”
The health council says they’ll continue to host the events and keep up with the increasing demand for emergency contraception kits.
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