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For many women in California, a new law that was supposed to make getting birth control easier has been a little disappointing. Under the law, women should be able to go to a pharmacy without a doctor’s prescription and pick up hormonal contraception, including pills and patches. Although the legislation was passed in 2013, women still struggle to find pharmacists who will dole out the medicines. (Karlamangla, 10/31)

Justices on the Florida Supreme Court will this morning hear arguments about whether a state law requiring women to see a doctor 24 hours before having an abortion should continue to be blocked by court order -- as it has for most of the last year and a half -- or should go into effect. The law, signed by Gov. Rick Scott in June 2015, was challenged in a lawsuit by abortion-rights activists and a Gainesville clinic, who argue that it creates an undue burden on abortion access and violates the state Constitution. (Auslen, 11/1)

Melinda Gates has made providing poor women in developing countries access to contraception a mission. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, which she leads with her husband, has donated more than $1 billion for family planning efforts and will spend about $180 million more this year. Since 2012, she has helped lead an international campaign to get birth control to 120 million more women by 2020. (Dugger, 11/1)