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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  • Proposed Changes to Title X: Implications for Women and Family Planning Providers

    Issue Brief

    The Trump Administration has taken numerous steps to significantly alter the Title X program, the federal grant program that supports family planning services to low-income women. This brief provides an overview of the Title X program, discusses the new 2018 funding announcement and related litigation, and reviews the Trump Administration’s proposed regulations and the implications of these changes.

  • New Regulations Broadening Employer Exemptions to Contraceptive Coverage: Impact on Women

    Issue Brief

    This brief explains the contraceptive coverage rule under the ACA, the impact it has had on coverage, and how the new regulations issued by the Trump administration have changed the contraceptive coverage requirement for employers with religious and moral objections to contraception and the women who receive coverage through their plans.

  • Web Briefing for Journalists – Reproductive Health in the Trump Era: Implications of Recent Federal and Judicial Action

    Event Date:
    Event

    The day after the midterm elections, the Trump Administration moved forward with anticipated regulatory changes governing employer exemption from the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) contraceptive coverage mandate based on religious or moral objections. That same day, a proposed rule was issued changing how health plans in states that do not ban abortion coverage from their ACA Marketplace plans must separately bill and collect payments for that coverage. The Trump Administration has also proposed changes to…

  • Views and Experiences Related to Women’s Health in Texas

    Report

    Using data from the Kaiser Family Foundation/Episcopal Health Foundation 2018 Texas Health Policy Survey, this brief explores how Texas women and men rank legislative priorities in the state, including health care issues of importance to women such as reducing maternal mortality and increasing access to reproductive services. It also compares gender differences in the share of Texas residents who report problems paying medical bills and postponing health care because of the cost.

  • Four in 10 Women Voters Age 18-44 Are “More Enthusiastic” to Vote in Mid-Terms This Year, Almost Three Times Higher than the Last Mid-Term

    News Release

    With the 2018 primary election season concluding in August and the general congressional mid-term election season ramping up, Kaiser Family Foundation polling finds younger women (ages 18-44) voters are more enthusiastic about voting this year than in previous mid-term elections. In a new data note about KFF’s June Health Tracking Poll that is focused on women voters’ influence in this year’s elections and beyond, the 39 percent of younger women voters expressing “more enthusiasm” is…

  • Data Note: How Women Voters Could Influence the 2018 Elections and Beyond

    Feature

    This analysis on the recent June 2018 Kaiser Health Tracking Poll examines the public’s attitudes, with a focus on views of women ages 18-44, toward several key women’s issues including workplace protections, reproductive health, and the #MeToo Movement – as well as the role that these issues may play in the 2018 midterm elections.

  • Health Affairs Blog: The Myth Of The Abortion Insurance Rider

    Perspective

    In a Health Affairs blog post, Laurie Sobel, Caroline Rosenzweig and Alina Salganicoff of the Kaiser Family Foundation discuss the feasibility of abortion riders to private group and individual health plans as a means of providing access to abortion coverage when states ban the coverage as part of an insurance plan. They summarize their 2018 analysis that these amendments are virtually non-existent.

  • Poll: Two-thirds of Americans Don’t Want the Supreme Court to Overturn Roe v. Wade

    News Release

    Large Majority of the Public View Federal Funding of Family Planning Services for Low-Income Women as “Important” As President Trump prepares to make a new Supreme Court nomination, new polling from the Kaiser Family Foundation finds that two-thirds (67%) of the public do not want the Supreme Court to overturn the 1973 landmark Roe v. Wade decision that established women’s constitutional right to abortion. Fielded this month prior to Justice Anthony Kennedy’s retirement announcement, the poll finds about three…

  • Further Findings from Kaiser’s June Health Tracking Poll: Women’s Issues

    Feature

    The latest Kaiser Health Tracking Poll examines the public’s attitudes, with a focus on views of women ages 18-44, toward several key women’s issues including workplace protections and reproductive health – as well as the role that these issues may play in the 2018 midterm elections.