Nicknamed "Uber for birth control," Nurx wants to make PrEP and the Pill more widely available.

This Contraceptive Delivery Service Is Now Giving Away Free Birth Control—In Donald Trump’s Name

Following the election, doctors’ offices saw a surge of women scrambling to secure birth control as they faced an administration that could make access to contraception even more difficult than it already is.

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But Nurx, a contraceptive home-delivery app that made headlines when it added PrEP to its offerings, is taking a bold stand against the Republican Party’s war on reproductive rights: It’s giving away free birth control in Donald Trump’s name.

Today through December 25, new Nurx users can get a $45 credit, good for up to three months of free birth control, simply by using the promo code “DonaldTrump.”







It couldn’t come at a more dire time: If Congress manages to repeal the Affordable Care Act, health plans will no longer be required to cover at least one form of the 18 contraceptives approved by the FDA.

Vice President-elect Mike Pence has referred to the ACA’s current birth-control mandate as “anti-Christian.”

And President-elect Trump has selected as the Department of Health and Human Services Senator Tom Price, who has said the requirement is “trampling on religious freedom and religious liberty in this country.”

“Donald Trump has said repeatedly that he wants to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and that would mean that millions of women would lose access to free birth control,” says Nurx co-founder and CEO Hans Gangeskar. “This motivated us to figure out a way to help make contraception even more accessible.”

No prescription is required: You simply select your preferred brand of birth control, answer a few questions and enter insurance and shipping information. A doctor then reviews the submission, writes a prescription and the medication is delivered directly to you. Using the “DonaldTrump” promo code at checkout will give you a $45 credit. After the promo ends, birth control through Nurx is free with insurance (for as long as the ACA remains in tact) and as low as $15 month without it.

No wonder Nurx has been called the “Uber for birth control.”

“Women should be able to access birth control on their own terms,” says co-founder Dr. Edvard Engesaeth. “Patients can use their insurance to cover their contraceptives, rather than being forced to pay cash.”

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Nurx is currently only available in California, New York, Washington State, and Washington, DC, but the company recently acquired $5.3 million in new funding, with the aim of expanding nationwide.

They have plans to launch in red states including Ohio, Missouri, and Pennsylvania in the near future, to be followed by Virginia, Illinois, and Florida.

As part of its mission to put people in control of their own health, Nurx also aims to make PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis, known commercially as Truvada) more accessible.

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When used as directed, PrEP is more than 90% effective at preventing new HIV infections in both men and women.

More than 79,000 people in the U.S. have started using it in the last four years—a great start, but still far short of the 1.2 million people the CDC recommends should be taking it. That’s something Nurx hopes to change by reducing barriers and improving access.

Federal health officials estimate that about a third of primary care doctors and nurses are unaware of Truvada’s existence.

“Unfortunately, access is still a major problem for many who need and want to be on PrEP,” said Jayne Gagliano, the PrEP Services Coordinator at Nurx. “We are changing the game in the fight against HIV by making PrEP more accessible through our app.”

Cost is also an issue: In the developing world, the wholesale price for PrEP is about $6-$7 for a month’s supply. In the U.S. it’s more than $1,400 a month. If your insurance doesn’t cover it—or, in a post-ACA world, you don’t have insurance—that’s prohibitively expensive.

There’s no promo code for free PrEP yet, but Nurx is dedicated to providing safe, healthy and accessible solutions to putting everyone in charge of their own sexual health.

“Women should not have to jump through unnecessary hoops just to access birth control,” says Dr. Jessica Knox, Nurx’s Medical Director. “The pill remains prescription-only throughout the United States, but with our app, we’re making birth control more accessible than ever.”

For more updates on Nurx’s free birth control campaign, follow #FreeBirthControl on social media.