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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  • One Year Since Dobbs: The Landscape of Abortion Policies Across the US  

    News Release

    There has been intense focus on abortion policies across the United States since the Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization on June 24, 2022. That decision overturned Roe v. Wade, eliminating federal constitutional protections for abortion and putting the decision to restrict or protect abortion with the states.  Now, nearly one year later, what is the status of federal and state developments? Where is abortion banned? Where is litigation pending? And…

  • Abortion Coverage in the Premium Relief Act of 2017 (HR 4666)

    Issue Brief

    This issue brief reviews current federal and state policies on private insurance coverage of abortion services, and how the Premium Relief Act of 2017 would affect abortion coverage for women enrolled in the individual market and some small group plans.

  • State and Federal Contraceptive Coverage Requirements: Implications for Women and Employers

    Issue Brief

    Before the ACA was passed, many states had enacted contraceptive equity laws that required plans to treat contraceptives in the same way they covered other services. In addition, since the ACA was passed, a number of states have enacted laws that basically codify in state legislation the ACA benefit rules. This issue brief provides an update on the status of the continuing litigation on the federal contraceptive requirement and explains the interplay between the federal…

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

    Report

    Improving access to prenatal care has been a public policy priority in the United States for the past 15 years. This report, 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 on the use of prenatal care during the late 1980s and 1990s.

  • Teen Pregnancy: Key Statistics

    Other Post

    The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation How widespread is teen pregnancy in the U.S.? More than four in 10 young women become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20 - nearly one million a year. Are more teens getting pregnant today than two or three decades ago? The pregnancy rate among all teen girls aged 15-19 rose 23 percent between 1972 and 1990, and then fell slightly in 1992. This increase…

  • Regulating the Quality of Abortion Services: Politics or Good Medicine?

    Report

    A growing trend by state legislatures to pass tough regulations on abortion services begs the questions: Do these rules help to ensure the health and safety of abortion patients and the quality of abortion services? Or, as some abortion rights groups have suggested, are they designed to put abortion providers out of business? National Committee for Quality Assurance Chief Executive Officer, Margaret O'Kane, National Abortion Federation Committee on Quality Improvement Chair, Dr. Bernard Smith, and…

  • Alan Guttmacher Institute Press Release

    Other Post

    Susan Tew/Chris Kirchgaessner 212-248-1111 mediaworks@agi-usa.org EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE: 9:30 AM, TUESDAY, DECEMBER 14, 1999 U.S. PUBLIC SCHOOL DISTRICTS OVERWHELMINGLY PROMOTE ABSTINENCE, BUT NOT TO THE EXCLUSION OF CONTRACEPTIVE INFORMATION Still, One-Third Say Instruction Must Be "Abstinence-Only" and Prohibit or Distort Contraceptive Information Among the seven in 10 public school districts that have a district-wide policy to teach sexuality education, the vast majority (86%) require that abstinence be promoted, either as the preferred option for teenagers…

  • SexSmarts Survey – Teens and Sexual Health Communication

    Poll Finding

    SexSmarts Survey- Teens and Sexual Health Communication As part of an on-going public information partnership called SexSmarts, seventeen magazine and the Kaiser Family Foundation conduct nationally-representative surveys of teens 15 to 17 on issues related to their sexual health. This survey examines sexual health communication between teens and their parents, health care providers and partners. The results suggest that nearly four in 10 sexually active adolescents say their parents don't know they are having sex.…