Current Status - Summary

As of January 2026, women’s rights in the United States remain highly volatile and deeply fragmented. Federal protections are weakening or unsettled in key areas, while states continue to move in sharply different directions. As a result, access to healthcare, workplace protections, safety, and voting rights increasingly depend on where a woman lives, how local laws are enforced, and what courts decide next. These shifts also increasingly affect transgender women and girls, who are facing targeted restrictions in healthcare, education, and public life layered on top of broader rollbacks in women’s rights.

As a result, protections are changing quickly—sometimes expanding, sometimes narrowing—often unevenly and with little warning.

Top 5 Things to Know

• Medication abortion remains a national flashpoint.
  The FDA has delayed its safety review of mifepristone until after the 2026 midterms. Medication abortion now accounts for 63% of all abortions in the U.S., making future rulings on this drug especially consequential.
• Access to basic reproductive healthcare is shrinking.
  Federal funding pressures and growing healthcare deserts are limiting access to contraception, screenings, prenatal care, and family planning—even in states where abortion remains legal.
• The Voting Rights Act is back before the Supreme Court.
  A ruling against Louisiana v Callais would weaken federal voting protections designed to prevent discriminatory voting maps and policies ahead of the 2026 elections.  
• Workplace equity protections are moving backward at the federal level.
  DEI requirements have been eliminated in federal workplaces, and there is still no national paid family or medical leave standard for states to follow.
• State divides are accelerating.
  Some states continue to strengthen protections, others restrict them, and many remain in active legal or political fights where courts and elections will decide what comes next.

Women’s Health

Reproductive Rights

Abortion access remains deeply uneven across the country. While federal inquiries into medication abortion have been delayed, any future changes to FDA policy would affect access nationwide. At the same time, a growing number of states have enacted shield laws and expanded protections, becoming access hubs for patients traveling from states with bans or severe restrictions—often straining clinics and providers. Emergency abortion care for miscarriages, ectopic pregnancies, and other complications also remains unsettled, as hospitals navigate conflicting interpretations of federal EMTALA requirements and state abortion laws.

Healthcare Access

Beyond abortion, access to reproductive healthcare is increasingly constrained by funding and infrastructure. Threats to Medicaid, Title X family planning funds, and ACA subsidies are straining clinics and hospitals already under pressure by reducing coverage and leaving providers to absorb more unpaid care. At the same time, hospital and clinic closures (Planned Parenthood) and obstetric provider shortages—especially in rural areas—are creating healthcare deserts where contraception, cancer screenings, prenatal care, and postpartum services are difficult or impossible to access.

These gaps hit low-income and rural women first, but rising premiums and fewer providers increasingly affect women across all income levels. In several states, restrictions on gender-affirming care have further narrowed access for transgender women and girls, contributing to provider shortages and increasing barriers to routine, preventive, and mental healthcare.

Workplace Rights

National workplace protections for women remain limited and are weakening in key areas. The federal government has eliminated DEI requirements in its own workplaces, and many large employers are scaling back equity programs tied to fair pay, promotion, and discrimination protections. There is still no national paid family or medical leave law, leaving protections to vary widely by state and employer and increasing uncertainty for working women.

Violence & Safety

Legal protections addressing domestic and sexual violence largely remain in place, but the systems supporting survivors are under strain. Funding shortages, staffing challenges, and limited capacity have reduced access to shelters, counseling, and legal support in many areas. As a result, safety increasingly depends on local resources, creating gaps between formal protections and the help women can reliably access.

Voting & Civic Participation

Women continue to play a growing role in elections and civic leadership, but federal safeguards for fair participation face renewed pressure. Ongoing challenges to the Voting Rights Act, combined with state-level voter ID laws and redistricting changes, could reshape access and representation ahead of the 2026 elections. Advocacy and voter-registration efforts are expanding, but the rules governing participation remain in flux.

Education

Gender equity in education is increasingly shaped by state and local policy rather than consistent federal oversight. Weakened enforcement of Title IX has left protections uneven for pregnant students, LGBTQ+ students, and those facing harassment. At the same time, many states have enacted or proposed laws restricting transgender girls’ participation in sports or access to bathrooms and school facilities, creating inconsistent rules and heightened scrutiny within schools. New federal degree-classification changes have also raised concerns about the devaluation of women-dominated fields, with impacts varying widely across states and institutions.