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 Back at the Supreme Court

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 now before the Supreme Court, 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.

New and noteworthy

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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431 - 440 of 871 Results

  • 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.…

  • Women and Health Care: A National Profile

    Report

    A new national survey of women on their health finds that a substantial percentage of women cannot afford to go to the doctor or get prescriptions filled. Although a majority of women are in good health and satisfied with their health care, many have health problems and do not get adequate levels of preventive care. The report also examines women’s health status, health care costs, insurance, access to care, prevention, and their role in family…

  • Views and Practices of Women’s Health Care Providers on Medical Abortion: An Update on Mifepristone

    Other Post

    This survey snapshot summarizes the results of a Foundation survey of women's health care providers between May andAugust 2001. Findings show that a relatively small proportion 6 percent of gynecologists and 1 percent of general practice physicians had used the drug to provide early medical abortions in the nine months since distribution began. Gynecologists who currently or recently provided surgical abortions are most likely to report that they now offer medical abortions or plan to…

  • The Entertainment Media as “Sex Educators?” And, Other Ways Teens Learn About Sex, Contraception, STDs, and AIDS

    Other Post

    The Entertainment Media as "Sex Educators?" And, Other Ways Teens Learn About Sex, Contraception, STDs, and AIDS A fact sheet, Q&A and resource list prepared for a briefing held in New York on June 24, 1996, co-sponsored by Kaiser Family Foundation, the National Press Foundation and The Alan Guttmacher Institute, as part of an ongoing briefing series for journalist on reproductive health issues: Emerging Issues in Reproductive Health. This briefing focused on understanding the different…

  • Contraception in the 90’s:  Which Methods Are Most Widely Used? And, Who Uses What?

    Fact Sheet

    Contraception in the 90's: Which Methods Are Most Widely Used? And, Who Uses What? A fact sheet and resource list on new contraceptive use data from the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth (NSFG) from a briefing on the topic held in New York City on June 20, 1997. Contraception In The 90s: Which Methods Are Most Widely Used?And, Who Uses What? was co-sponsored by the Kaiser Family Foundation, the National Press Foundation and The…

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

    Other Post

    D. Knowledge of Teen Pregnancy D1. Now I'm going to ask you some questions about teenagers, that is, young women between the ages of 12 and 19. Do you think that the percentage of teenagers in the United States who engage in sexual intercourse is increasing, decreasing, or is it about the same as ten years ago? Asked only in the U.S. USA18+ Increasing 73% Decreasing 9% Same 17% Not sure/Refused 1% D2. What percentage…

  • Medicaid and Managed Care: Implications for Low-income Women

    Report

    This commentary reviews Medicaid's role for low-income women and examines the implications Medicaid managed care on the delivery of health services to this vulnerable population. Today 40% of the Medicaid population, mostly poor women and their children, is enrolled in managed care. Medicaid agencies are hoping managed care will control spending and address longstanding problems with access to care. Low-income women have a number of characteristics that make them doubly vulnerable to have trouble accessing…

  • If The FDA Approves Mifepristone…What Happens Next? Will Doctors Provide It? Will Women Want It? And, What Effect Will it Have on Abortion Politics?

    Report

    For almost 20 years, women's health advocates have been pushing for U.S. approval of mifepristone (also known as "RU-486"), a non-surgical abortion method that European women have used for a decade. Now that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) seems poised to give the final go-ahead, the big question is: So what happens next? Will mifepristone make abortion more "private," allowing women and doctors to avoid the threats and protests that have plagued many clinics?…

  • Emergency Contraception: All Talk and No Action?

    Other Post

    Survey of Americans on Emergency Contraception The 1997 Kaiser Family Foundation Survey of Americans on Emergency Contraception examined public knowledge and attitudes regarding unplanned pregnancy and contraception, with a particular focus on emergency contraceptive pills. The survey, conducted by Princeton Survey Research Associates for Kaiser Family Foundation, consisted of telephone interviews with a nationally representative sample of 1000 women and 300 men aged 18 to 44 years old living in telephone households in the continental…