How to Get Plan C Pills (and What They Actually Are)

Plan B and Plan C are not the same thing

Plan B is emergency contraception. You take it after sex and before there's a pregnancy, and it keeps one from starting. It does nothing if you're already pregnant.

"Plan C" is what people started calling medication abortion: it ends a pregnancy that has already started. If you're not sure which one you need, a pregnancy test is what settles it.

What people mean by "Plan C pills"

Almost always, they mean abortion pills. The name stuck the same way "Plan B" stuck, and plenty of people now use it without knowing where it came from. If you typed "how to get Plan C pills" and landed here, medication abortion is what you're looking for.

Plan C is also a real organization

Before it was a common phrase, Plan C was (and still is) a project that maintains a directory of where to get abortion pills in every state. They don't sell anything and they don't prescribe anything. They research and publish the list, and they've been doing it well for years.

Their directory lives at plancpills.org, and it's worth using. Roxy Clinic is a separate clinic and is not owned by or part of Plan C.

What the pills actually are

Medication abortion uses two FDA-approved medications: mifepristone and misoprostol. Mifepristone blocks progesterone, the hormone a pregnancy needs to continue. Misoprostol, taken afterward, makes the uterus cramp and empty. Together they work more than 95% of the time in the first trimester.

None of this is experimental or new. The FDA approved this use in 2000, and millions of people in the United States have gone through it since. Your clinician will determine the appropriate protocol for you.

How you actually get them

Most people do this by telehealth. You fill out a pre-screen, a licensed clinician looks it over, and if you're eligible the package goes out in a plain envelope. You won't sit in a waiting room or walk past anybody holding a sign. Roxy's scale runs $0–$145 depending on what you can afford, and nobody asks you to prove your income.

What does matter is where you live and how far along you are. The rules change by state, and there's a time limit. The pre-screen tells you in about two minutes whether we can help.

If we can't help you

Then the Plan C directory is where to go. They cover all 50 states, including ones we don't serve, and they list options we don't offer. Start at plancpills.org. We'd rather point you somewhere useful than leave you with nothing.