Chapter 4 traces the trajectory of competing policy frames in congressional debates over the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Although the ACA was not the first attempt to ensure contraceptive coverage, it was easily the most visible, sweeping, and significant. Utilizing content analysis and in-depth interviews with policymakers, this chapter shows that the debate over contraceptive regulation in the ACA shifted course over time—from being predominantly about health care at the start to being predominantly about religious freedom after the law’s passage. Additionally, the analyses presented in this chapter suggest that a policymaker’s gender was far more important than their partisanship in shaping how they chose to frame issues related to contraception under the ACA. Taken together, these findings reveal the dramatic extent to which rhetoric about the ACA’s contraception requirements was dynamic (rather than static) and shaped by gender.
How does religious affiliation affect women's attitudes toward reproductive health policy? Implications for the Affordable Care Act
