The Politics of Women’s Health Care in the United States

Women’s healthcare is facing a crisis. On the publication of this book, there are increasing efforts to restrict or limit funding for research and to limit public funding for healthcare services. These restrictions are most obviously recognizable by the executive order suggesting that federal grants should not use the word “women” in funding proposals. Meanwhile, the 2025 federal budget restricts and contracts Medicaid funding, 75% of which is used by women and children.  As a result, Elizabeth Palley, Howard Palley and Marian Lief Palley reexamine the politics of women’s healthcare and what advocates have done to further enhance policies that promote women’s health and wellbeing. They also consider where women’s health care advocates have been successful, where they have been stymied and where advances have been reversed. Examining topics such as women’s healthcare during pregnancy in the aftermath of the Dobbs decision, as well as political and cultural obstacles women currently face regarding healthcare access and equity, the authors assess the current state of women’s healthcare and highlight where women are most vulnerable.