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 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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  • The Healthcare Experiences of Women with HIV/AIDS – Insights from Focus Groups

    Report

    The Healthcare Experiences of Women with HIV/AIDS: Insights from Focus Groups This report summarizes findings from a series of focus groups with women living with HIV/AIDS. Focus group participants describe their first-hand experience with the health care system, including issues of to financing and coverage, relationships with providers, the role of AIDS support organizations, and challenges in care and treatment. Report (.pdf)

  • 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…

  • Kaiser Family Foundation National Survey of Kids (and Their Parents) About Famous Athletes as Role Models

    Poll Finding

    With the most recent Olympics and now Major League Baseball marred by reports of the use of banned performance-enhancing drugs, a new nationwide survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation examines the influence of sports figures in kids' lives today. Based on telephone interviews with a randomly selected national sample of 1,500 children ages 10-17 years old (and 1,950 parents), the survey found that many American kids are mirroring the behavior of famous athletes - the…

  • Emergency Contraception on the Drug Store Shelves?Will it Happen? And What Would It Mean for “The Pill”?

    Issue Brief

    The debate over whether women should be able to get "the pill" without a prescription has been going on quietly for years. Now, some women's health advocates are asking if emergency contraception, birth control that can be used to prevent pregnancy after sex, should be available over-the-counter. The reason? While new emergency contraceptive products are now on the market, many U.S. women still don't know about them. And, even if they do, they might not…

  • The Gender of Politics: How (And How Much) Will Women Influence Election 2000?

    Other Post

    Campaign 1992 was dubbed "The Year of the Woman" because more female candidates ran that year than any other in U.S. history. In 1996, "Soccer Moms" grabbed headlines as the group that candidates needed to win. What role will women have in 2000? How will Election 2000 be remembered? Who is the "woman voter?" What issues does "she" care about? How will women affect the 2000 campaign? A panel of experts, including Kellyanne Fitzpatrick, President,…

  • Sex Education in America:  A View from Inside the Nation’s Classrooms

    Report

    A series of new national surveys of students and their parents (1501 pairs), teachers (1001), and principals (313) from the Kaiser Family Foundation on Sex Education in America, was released on Tuesday, September, 26th, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC. Challenging the convention that Americans are reluctant to have sexual health issues taught in school, the surveys show that most parents, along with educators and students themselves, would expand sex education courses and…

  • The Key to the Door: Medicaid’s Role in Improving Health Care for Women and Children

    Report

    This article, authored by Diane Rowland, Alina Salganicoff, and Patricia Keenan of the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, assesses Medicaid's contributions as a public financing program for health insurance coverage for the poor over the last three decades. It reviews Medicaid's impact on the low-income population and discusses the limitations of the program as a strategy for improving the health of low-income groups. While gaps in coverage and limitations in access persist between…

  • Key Facts: Women and HIV/AIDS

    Report

    Women comprise a growing share of new cases of AIDS in the United States. In 1986, women only represented 7% of new cases of AIDS. By 1999 that share had risen to nearly one quarter. Not only do women represent an increasing share of persons with AIDS, today they represent 30 percent of new HIV infections. Women of color, particularly African Americans, have been hardest hit among women. This report provides an overview of the…

  • 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…