Women's Health Policy

ABORTION IN THE U.S.

KFF infographic explaining who regulates mifepristone, showing four entities and their roles: the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves and regulates medications for safety and effectiveness; state legislatures pass laws that can restrict or protect access; courts rule on legal cases affecting regulation; and Congress can pass federal legislation influencing regulation.

Louisiana v. FDA: Access to Mifepristone

Louisiana sued the FDA in October 2025, claiming the FDA’s 2023 regulatory change eliminating the requirement that mifepristone be dispensed in-person—allowing it to be mailed or dispensed at retail pharmacies—harm the state's ability to enforce its abortion ban. This brief reviews the Louisiana v. FDA case and provides an overview of the other pending litigation involving mifepristone, as well as the mounting tension between states seeking to protect abortion and those banning the provision of abortion.

CONTRACEPTIve care IN THE U.S.

An Update on Medicaid, Title X and Planned Parenthood

This brief provides an update on Planned Parenthood clinic closures and participation in the Title X program amid substantial policy changes resulting in funding reductions. These changes include the One Big Beautiful Bill Act and the withholding of federal Title X funding to Planned Parenthood clinics.

SELECTED RESOURCES

Over-the-Counter Oral Contraceptive Pills

In July 2023, the FDA approved Opill, the first daily oral contraceptive pill to become available over the counter (OTC) without a doctor’s prescription. This issue brief provides an overview of OTC oral contraceptives and laws and policies related to insurance coverage.

featured

A promotional image for the the KFF Health Policy 101 Issues in Women’s Health chapter

Health Policy Issues in Women’s Health

Examine the core health coverage and access issues —shaped by federal and state policies—that affect women’s health today, including health coverage and costs, reproductive health services, maternal health, mental health, and intimate partner violence.

State Profiles for Women’s Health

Explore the latest national and state-specific data and policies on women’s health. Topics include health status, insurance and Medicaid coverage, use of preventive services, sexual health, maternal and infant health, and abortion policies. Many indicators provide state-level information for women of different racial and ethnic groups.

The essentials
  • Women’s Health Insurance Coverage

    This factsheet reviews major sources of coverage for women residing in the U.S., discusses the ACA's impact on coverage, and the coverage challenges that many women continue to face.
  • Medicaid Coverage for Women

    This data note presents key data points describing the current state of the Medicaid program as it affects women, including eligibility, reproductive health, chronic conditions, and more.
  • Dobbs: What are the Implications for Racial Disparities?

    This analysis examines the implications of the Dobbs decision and state restrictions on abortion coverage for racial disparities in access to care and health outcomes.
  • State Health Facts: Women's Health Indicators

    Information on women’s health status, utilization of services, health insurance coverage, family planning and childbirth, and abortion statistics and policies.
  • Key Facts on Abortion in the United States

    This report answers some key questions about abortion in the United States and presents data collected before the overturn of Roe v. Wade.

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  • Sexuality and American Social Policy

    Other Post

    Monographs as part of the ongoing seminar series, jointly sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation and the American Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research (AEI), "." Resource List:

  • Talking about STDs with Health Professionals: Women’s Experiences – Report

    Report

    Talking About STDs with Health Professionals Women's Experiences More than 12 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) other than HIV/AIDS, including three million among teenagers alone, occur every year. At current rates, at least one person in four will contract an STD at some point in his or her life. With as many as 56 million individuals - more than one in five Americans - estimated to be currently infected with an incurable…

  • Emergency Contraception: From Prescription to Over-the-Counter

    Other Post

    This issue update provides information on the process of making emergency contraception available without a prescription. It includes sections on how a drug becomes availible without a prescription;, the over-the counter-debate; implications for cost and use; and safety and efficacy. Issue Update

  • Teens on Sex: What They Say Teens Today Need to Know, And Who They Listen To

    Report

    A national random-sample telephone survey of 1,510 teenagers age 12-18, conducted for the Foundation by Princeton Survey Research Associates between March 28, 1996 and May 5, 1996. The survey finds that most teens have enough information about how girls get pregnant, but not how to use different kinds of birth control. The survey also revealed a number of misperceptions about the consequences of pregnancy and that most teens say a common reason teens do get…

  • National Survey of Women about their Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding their Reproductive Health

    Report

    Survey of Women About Their Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices Regarding Their Reproductive Health Glamour; Kaiser Family Foundation; Princeton Survey Research Associates Summary of Major Findings February 1997 The Kaiser Family Foundation partnered with Glamour magazine on a national survey to find out how much women know about their reproductive health care needs and whether they are taking important steps to protect their reproductive health, covering such critical issues as: routine gynecological exams,contraception, emergency contraception, sexually…

  • Promoting Access to Prenatal Care: Lessons from the California Experience (Issue Brief)

    Issue Brief

    Improving access to prenatal care has been a public policy priority in the United States for the past 15 years. This issue brief, prepared for the Kaiser Family Foundation by Paula Braveman, M.D. of the University of California, San Francisco and others, examines the impact of the Medicaid pregnancy-related expansions and reforms in California during the late 1980s and 1990s on the use of prenatal care.

  • Survey on Public Knowledge and Attitudes on Contraception and Unplanned Pregnancy in the U.S., Canada and the Netherlands

    Poll Finding

    The three separate random-sample telephone surveys of adults ages 18 and older living in the United States, Canada, and the Netherlands, designed by the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation in association with Louis Harris and Associates, Inc and conducted in 1995. The surveys were conducted to assess differences in public knowledge, opinions, and practices related to pregnancy and birth control, hoping to help explain some of the variation in unplanned pregnancy rates between the U.S.…

  • New Analysis Reveals Gaps in Abortion Coverage for Employees with Employer-Sponsored Plans

    News Release

    New analysis of KFF’s 2019 Employer Benefits Survey finds that 10% of workers covered by employer-sponsored health insurance are employed at a firm that has asked their insurer or third party administrator to exclude abortion coverage from their health plan. Employer-sponsored coverage is the primary source of health benefits in the U.S., covering 153 million Americans. Four percent of covered workers are employed at firms that exclude coverage of abortion under any circumstance and 6%…