Pharmaceutical retailer chains CVS and Rite Aid have begun to limit the purchase of emergency contraceptives as demand for the pills has shot up after the US Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, a law that made abortions a constitutional right.

Currently, CVS is limiting purchases to three pills per customer in a bid to ensure all customers have equitable access and there is no sudden dip in supply, a spokesperson told Bloomberg. They went on to say that despite the limits, the retailer had enough Plan B and Aftera in supply at both their online and offline stores. Rite Aid has also chosen to limit the sale of Plan B to three per customer. 

Also Read: Planned Parenthood vows to fight for abortion rights amid Roe v Wade reversal

Other chains like Walgreens haven’t announced a limit, one of their spokesperson told Bloomberg. In the meantime, insurance companies and abortion clinics are preparing for a surge in pregnant people crossing state lines, leaving employers in a lurch. The decision is likely to have long-lasting effects on health care in the country. According to the Guttmacher Institute, 26 of the country’s fifty states would be making abortion illegal, with 13 of them having “trigger laws” designed to automatically make abortion illegal with the announcement of the Court’s decision. 

Also Read: What Roe v Wade overturning means

When the announcement regarding Roe v. Wade was made last week on June 24, 2022, many companies across the country announced that it would help its employees seek medical care, although how much of that was optics and whether it will actually be the case, remains to be seen. Even those in Silicon Valley, who largely shy away from politicking at the Capitol, saw an up tick in conversations regarding the law, which many companies like Facebook and Apple rushing to control conversations about the ruling on their internal channels.

Last month, when a draft version of the Supreme Court’s decision, online queries for over-the-counter emergency contraceptives shot up while appointments for intra-uterine devices increased considerably.