Sexual health, abortion access, and contraception choices haven’t left the cultural and political zeitgeist since the 70s… but in the past few years the conversation has shifted. We're fighting a national battle for the right to make decisions about our own bodies while simultaneously watching a propagandized push across social media, convincing young women and girls to ditch their birth control and instead track their cycle on apps selling their data to the highest bidder. As the calendar approaches 4 years since Roe v. Wade was overturned by the Dobbs Decision, the clock continues to rewind our reproductive rights.
To understand where we are right now, it’s fundamental to understand what we actually lost.
In 1973, the Supreme Court ruled that the Constitution protected a person's right to an abortion, essentially establishing that the government could not control what you do with your own body up to fetal viability (around 24 weeks of pregnancy). This ruling was the Roe v Wade decision. It was the cornerstone of reproductive rights in the US for almost 50 years. But in June 2022, the Supreme Court's Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization decision reversed these protections.
Dobbs kicked abortion policy back to individual states… and those state decisions have wreaked havoc on the lives of millions of women in the past 4 years. Some states chose to protect abortion access, codifying it in their state constitutions. But within months, over a dozen states had near-total abortion bans in place. While access to reproductive healthcare varies across zip codes, a ban anywhere is truly a ban everywhere.
The reproductive healthcare system post-Dobbs has become even more inequitable and accessible and has even resulted in preventable deaths for many people seeking their human right to care. Women are denied miscarriage treatment because doctors are terrified of legal repercussions. Women with ectopic pregnancies (which are never viable and are life-threatening) are being turned away or delayed from care while hospitals wait for legal clearance. There is a shortage of OB-GYNs in states with abortion bans; they don’t want to risk legal repercussions, including jail time or a proposed death sentence.
Maternal mortality rates in the US were already among the highest in the developed world before Dobbs. This means more women and gender expansive people die of pregnancy related causes in the US than any other developed nation. Birthing people in the US are roughly 3 to 4 times more likely to die of pregnancy related causes than those in the UK, Canada, or Australia. This crisis is even worse for people of color. Black women in the US are 2.6 times more likely to die of pregnancy-related causes than white women.
It also cannot be ignored that the states with the strictest abortion bans (and the most restrictive sex education curriculums) consistently rank the lowest for maternal health and infant mortality. States like Mississippi, South Dakota, Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, Alabama, Kentucky and Louisiana ban abortion and have the most people without access to an OBGYN, many of these states also rank in the highest percentile for child poverty. This reinforces the feeling that abortion bans aren’t really about protecting life… they’re about controlling women and gender expansive people. The data in these “pro-life” states shows, in fact, the very opposite. They are some of the least safe places to be a pregnant person.
Access (or lack thereof) to women’s health has become an even deeper systemic issue rippling across the US post-Dobbs. The rising maternal mortality and OBGYN exodus is a compounding crisis, leaving millions of women without access to essential healthcare.
OBGYN care deserts, also known as maternity care deserts, are counties where there are no obstetricians, gynecologists, or certified nurse midwives; and no hospitals with birthing centers or delivery capabilities. As of 2025, 36% of US counties are OBGYN care deserts. That is a third of the United States. March of Dimes created an interactive map showing where OBGYN care deserts are in the US, you can find them in red below, or here on their website.
When we talk about OBGYN care deserts, headlines primarily focus on the inaccessibility of birthing centers, spiking maternal mortality, and concerns about prenatal care. But reproductive health isn’t the only thing being affected. Without OBGYNs in many counties, people in the US are left undiagnosed with conditions like endometriosis and PMOS (formerly PCOS). When people are seeking care for common health conditions (think vaginal infections, UTIs, STIs and more) they are often left with little to no options in their local community.
Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” is pouring gasoline on the Dobbs-shaped fire burning up healthcare access in the US. The bill enacted extreme cuts to Medicaid and effectively defunded Planned Parenthood in many states by barring federal Medicaid reimbursements to any nonprofit family planning provider that also offers abortion services.
This has resulted in nearly 200 Planned Parenthood health centers being threatened with closure, many of which are already located in medically underserved and rural areas. It puts over a million patients at risk of losing access to contraception, cancer screenings, STI testing, vaginal infection testing and treatment, and basic reproductive care. Nationwide, it will leave up to 14 million individuals uninsured by 2034.
When a vaginal infection occurs, it cannot be ignored. Despite the rumors, chugging cranberry juice won’t make UTIs go away. Untreated, bacteria from urinary tract infections can spread from the bladder to the kidneys. This can cause a kidney infection and sometimes even sepsis, which is a life threatening health condition. In the US, over 400,000 people are hospitalized for UTIs every year. Those experiencing UTIs need antibiotics to treat them quickly, but typically can’t get treatment without access to a provider.
It is often thrown around that women in OBGYN deserts and abortion restricted states can just leave their area to get care: travel to another county, drive across state lines, or make a trip out of their abortion appointment. This suggestion is overlooking the reality that for most women, that is logistically not an option. This is why telemedicine access is vital and should be protected.
A few months ago Winx held a customer survey, in hopes to learn a bit more about their community and how to better serve them. What they learned has totally reshaped the brand’s growth strategy. In over 300 respondents in the customer survey 36% reported household incomes under $50k, and 72% live in households with total income under $100k annually. When Winx asked what most influences their purchasing decisions, price was the single most cited factor. Pricing outranked time, privacy, and everything else… access came in second.
Winx asked what made getting care the hardest before finding the brand. Unsurprisingly, the top answer was simply that healthcare is too expensive. One respondent shared, "I was able to get an easy UTI test delivered to my door and test and get medication without burning a hole in my pocket when I didn't have health insurance."
Another woman told Winx that she had to deduct from her family's food budget just to test for a vaginal infection. A college student wrote that Winx was appealing specifically because going to the doctor wasn't viable. She didn’t have access to a provider in her area. And one responder in a rural area shared that struggling with UTI sensitivity and a lack of providers in her area, she is apprehensive about being sexually active.
In a time of heavily censored algorithms, book bans, and near non-existent sex education in schools, knowing where to find accurate, judgment-free information is a necessity. Knowledge is the first line of defense, so we’re sharing organizations where you can find healthcare solutions, abortion funds, and current information on reproductive access and legislation.
Winx Health is rewriting the rules of vaginal, sexual, and reproductive health. They make science-backed products from UTI and Vaginal Test + Treats to morning-after pills, and they show up on socials to answer the questions your health class didn't. Winx believes that healthcare should be accessible, affordable, and free of shame and stigma. Follow @winxhealth on socials, check out our sex-ed blog, and get access to the care you need.
Plan C is a nonprofit that provides information on state by state access to abortion pills online, including options that are free or low-cost. Their Guide to Pills at plancpills.org lets folks know which providers are available based on where they live and provides resources to help folks make the most informed decisions for their body.
Hey Jane is one of the first clinics to offer safe, effective and completely legal abortion care through telemedicine. They offer sliding-scale pricing based on income for all of their services, and you can also apply for financial assistance. Right now you can get the abortion pill mailed to you in all 50 states.
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