DDN – Dr. Sarah Wallett is unsure how or whether President Donald Trump’s administration would affect her patients’ access to abortion and gender-affirming care.

But Wallett, the chief medical operating officer at Planned Parenthood of Michigan, understands their concern. And so is she. “I feel like I’m waiting here a little bit anxiously, like many others, to kind of see what the next few days bring.”

On Monday, President Trump threatened to pull back transgender protections, including instituting a policy that recognizes only two genders: male and female. The orders prohibited the use of federal taxpayer funds to provide “transition services,” according to the Associated Press.

Some states, including Michigan, have covered gender-affirming care through Medicaid. In 2023, Michigan’s civil rights statute was expanded to prevent discrimination based on gender identity or expression.

“The incoming Trump administration has indicated that trans and gender diverse people will particularly be under attack, and they are very fearful that they won’t be able to get their medications in the future,” Wallet told me on Monday.

“So we’ve spent a lot of time over the last two months providing what reassurance we can, continuing to support them in getting their health care and planning for what could happen.”

In 2022, Michigan voters approved a constitutional amendment that protects extensive reproductive rights, such as abortion and contraception. However, changes at the federal level may have an impact on Michiganders, particularly if the Trump administration seeks to restrict access to abortion drugs. Medication abortions account for more than half of all abortions in Michigan and over 60% nationwide.

“So attempts to reverse the FDA approval of mifepristone, [and] there’s also been talk about using the 1873 Comstock Act to ban mifepristone from being sent through the mail, which would create devastating barriers to care,” Wallet said.

The Comstock Act characterizes certain abortion-related documents as obscene and prohibits the postal service from transporting them.

Last month, Time asked Trump if he would promise that the FDA would do nothing to restrict access to abortion drugs. At first, Trump replied, “We’re going to take a look at all of that,” followed by his statement that he was “against stopping [abortion pills] … so I don’t see any reason why it changed, but somebody could come up with something that, you know, this horrible thing.”

Finally, when asked if he was committed to ensuring that the FDA “does not take [women’s] capacity to acquire abortion medicines,” Trump replied, “That would be my commitment. “Yes, it has always been my commitment.”

Appointments for long-acting contraceptives such as IUDs increased by 77% in the two weeks following Trump’s victory, according to Planned Parenthood of Michigan. Patients are also asking Wallett whether they should store up on birth control pills, Plan B, or abortion pills, she said.

“I tell them that Planned Parenthood will be here to help them access services,” she said. “However, these are exceptional times. And if they prefer to have a supply on hand, we will accommodate them. I wish I could offer something more reassuring. But I can’t tell them I can predict the future.”

Meanwhile, the number of out-of-state patients seeking abortions in Michigan “remains steady at triple the number we saw before the Dobbs decision,” a PPMI representative stated in an email on Monday. In Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization, the Supreme Court overruled Roe v. Wade, effectively ending federal abortion rights protections.

“Prior to Dobbs, we were providing abortions for just over 600 out-of-state patients per year; now, we’re providing about 1,700,” Planned Parenthood of Michigan stated.

Reference: Michigan transgender, abortion rights advocates brace for Trump