Nonprofit expands abortion pill awareness through laundromat campaign across LA and San Diego

California has positioned itself as a safe haven for abortion care by enacting laws to protect and expand access. Despite these efforts, crisis pregnancy centers (CPC) currently outnumber licensed clinics that provide abortion services in CA by a ratio of five to four.

In order to combat this issue, Mayday Health, a nonprofit focused on abortion pill education, has launched an ad campaign in 50 laundromats across Los Angeles and San Diego to spread awareness and inform people about their options when facing an unwanted pregnancy.

Leo Raisner the founder and executive of the organization said that the reason they chose to advertise in laundromats was because its “primarily a working class clientele.”

She also added that people who wash at laundry mats have a lot of downtime to scroll on their phones and look around the location, which gives them a unique opportunity to serve important health information.

“We know that these laundromats serve a high number of Spanish-speaking clients, so in every single laundromat, we put out both English and Spanish advertisements,” Raisner said. She also emphasized that abortion pill education campaigns matter, even in sanctuary states like California.

According to the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH), polling data shows that 53% of Latinas actively identify as pro-choice, and a large percentage is opposed to any restrictions on abortion rights. 

Additionally, the Alan Guttmacher Institute reports that 20% of women having abortions are Latinas, and among Latinas between the ages of 15-44, 25% of pregnancies end in abortion.

Raisner shared that having access to abortion options helps reduce the mortality rate. According to a 2023 reproductive analysis, Latina maternal mortality rate increased by 44% following the onset of the 2020 pandemic, resulting in 18.2 deaths per 100,000 births.

“Oftentimes, maternal deaths happen because there are severe medical emergencies that could have been prevented had women had the right to choose to terminate their pregnancy,” she said.Unfortunately, in a lot of states, women have lost that right and we've seen maternal deaths climb in states like Texas and Florida, and this is a real tragedy.

That same analysis from 2023 also demonstrates that close to 6.7 million Latinas, or 43%, live in 26 states that have banned or are likely to ban abortions.

Despite CA’s strong protections for abortion access, the state is home to one of the nation's largest concentrations of CPC’s, where misleading information about reproductive health care continues to be a concern. Reisner said that whether you're a doctor or a patient or a community advocate, spreading the truth can help combat misinformation.

“Abortion pills have been FDA approved for two decades. The anti-abortion movement would love for people to think that this medication is unsafe, but it's just not. Abortion pills actually lead to fewer hospitalizations than Tylenol. This is an extremely safe medication,” Reisner said.

Through the Mayday Health website individuals can access information about abortion pills by mail, while safeguarding their identity.

“When you visit, you will be immediately hit with digital privacy tools that help you protect your data and Mayday does not collect any identifying information about visitors on purpose. The only thing that we collect is the zip code and that's it,” she said.

Women can proactively order abortion pills even if they are not currently pregnant. According to Plan C, people are getting abortion pills in advance and many providers will send the abortion pills to all U.S. states and territories.

Pills will typically cost between $90 and $150 and its shelf life is about two years when stored in a cool, dry place. Research shows that this practice has been happening for many years.