The Politics of the Pill

The announcement of a Health and Human Services (HHS) rule requiring insurance providers to cover the costs of contraception as part of the Affordable Care Act sparked widespread political controversy. How did something that millions of American women use regularly become such a fraught political issue? In The Politics of the Pill, Rachel VanSickle-Ward and Kevin Wallsten explore how gender has shaped contemporary debates over contraception policy in the U.S. Within historical context, they examine the impact that women and perceptions of gender roles had on media coverage, public opinion, policy formation, and legal interpretations from the deliberation of the Affordable Care Act in 2009 to the more recent Supreme Court rulings in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. and Zubic v. Burwell. Their central argument is that representation matters: who had a voice significantly impacted policy attitudes, deliberation and outcomes. While women's participation in the debate over birth control was limited by a lack of gender parity across institutions, women nevertheless shaped policy making on birth control in myriad and interconnected ways. Combining detailed analyses of media coverage and legislative records with data from public opinion surveys, survey experiments, elite interviews, and congressional testimony, The Politics of the Pill tells a broader story of how gender matters in American politics.


It is quite rare to find a book that takes a big picture look at the evolution of public policy, much less a policy that deeply affects women. In The Politics of the Pill, VanSickle-Ward and Wallsten, do just that, providing a rich, detailed, and comprehensive look at birth control policy, from how it is covered in the media, to the debates that played out in congress and the courts, to factors that influence state level policy adoption, to public opinion on the issue. Using multiple methods, they deftly weave together, analyze, and discuss policy evolution across these multiple venues, to showcase how women's voices mattered at various stages of the policy process. This is a must read for anyone interested in women and politics, policy evolution, and representation. -Jennifer Merolla, University of California, Riverside

The Politics of the Pill provides an exceptionally nuanced and thorough argument that what we are talking about, what the law is, and what we believe when it comes to reproductive rights is intimately linked to who is allowed to talk. As such, it is a timely and welcome addition to not only scholarly discussions, but to policy and public debates as well. -Joshua Wilson, University of Denver