Why Can’t Texas Women Get Their Preferred Birth Control?

“You’re more likely to use a given [birth control] method correctly and consistently if it’s the method you want to be using. And that matters, because if you’re using the method in the right way and consistently, you’re less likely to experience an unwanted pregnancy. As we know right now in Texas, it’s very difficult for Texans to end an unwanted pregnancy — which makes preventing unwanted pregnancies even more critical.”

—   Gracia Sierra, Ph.D., Nonresident Scholar, Maternal and Reproductive Health, Baker Institute

About the Episode

More than half of Texas women can’t access their preferred birth control method — meaning they can’t use the method that works best for them. Gracia Sierra, a nonresident scholar at the Baker Institute and data scientist at Resound Research for Reproductive Health, sits down with senior health policy fellow Elena M. Marks to discuss how insurance status shapes access to contraception and why uninsured and publicly insured people are most likely to face barriers.

Sierra also lays out policy solutions to the gap, from expanding Medicaid to strengthening existing programs for low-income Texans, from her latest coauthored report for the Baker Institute.

This conversation was recorded on Oct. 17, 2025. 

Mentioned in this episode:

Gracia Sierra, Elise King, Jeanette Cunningham Rottas, Anna Chatillon, and Kari White, “Barriers to Preferred Contraceptive Use in Texas,” Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy, November 4, 2025.

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About ‘Texas Briefing’

 “Texas Briefing” brings expert insights to the policy challenges shaping life in the Lone Star State. Through topical miniseries, institute scholars and their guests untangle issues in health, the economy, climate resilience, and more to understand how policy matters are impacting communities from the Panhandle to the Gulf Coast.

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This material may be quoted or reproduced without prior permission, provided appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy. The views expressed herein are those of the individual author(s) and do not necessarily represent the views of Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy.