Perhaps you have heard: menopause is have a moment. Celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Drew Barrymore began speaking out about symptom management and self-esteem. Halle Berry shouted from the steps of the Capitol: “I’m in menopause, okay?!”
As menopause advocates, we have long viewed this “moment” as long overdue, sparking needed conversations for millions of people who would otherwise suffer through menopause in silence and shame. It’s a relief to see the subject discussed openly, even if some conversations are sparked by strange viral moments on the campaign trail, like a recent remark from a Republican Senate candidate who thinks it’s “a little crazy” that women over 50 would vote on the issue of reproductive rights.
This isn’t crazy at all – and bodily autonomy isn’t just about pregnancy and abortion. Menopausal women have a lot at stake in this year’s election.
Like our younger counterparts, we too must be able to make informed choices regarding our health. We deserve access to affordable, competent medical care and treatment from qualified professionals. We have every right and every reason to demand that lawmakers and political leaders invest in our well-being, our dignity and our humanity.
We are also not a specialized interest group. We are legion, 75 million strong in the United States, at certain stages of perimenopause, menopause or post-menopause.
Here are three critical issues in menopause care that we invite voters to consider.
First, equity in federal funding of medical research. The National Institutes of Health only assigns 10.8% of its $45 billion budget to women’s health, according to the most recent count (2020), although women make up more than half of the U.S. population. Of that, only a tiny fraction goes to research targeting midlife and menopause – an amount so small it can’t even be calculated, given that menopause-specific research is part of a “sub- category of a subcategory”. according to neuroscientist Lisa Mosconi.
In March, President Biden signed an executive order creating a national task force, the White House Women’s Health Research Initiativewith a call for a $12 billion investment in research into women’s midlife and menopause. As part of this commitment, last month the US Department of Defense announced a new disbursement of $500 million. Meanwhile, Congress has introduced a series of bipartisan bills this session – the Act on Promoting Menopause and Middle-Aged Women’s Health in the Senate and three corresponding proposals in the House – all of which would increase funding for research and education on menopause symptoms and treatments. These are all positive steps, and it is essential that they remain a priority for Congress and the White House. We need to pay attention to funding for women’s health research when we vote.
Second, menopause also appears in the down elections. Governors, state legislators, city council members, and other officials such as health commissioners and board members can reinforce federal commitments through oversight roles, including state-funded universities. public funds and other entities producing medical and scientific research. Many of these offices also have the power to increase – or decrease – access to affordable care.
This summer Louisiana passed historic law make insurance coverage of menopause treatments mandatory. The California Assembly recently held public hearings on menopause at work; the New Jersey Senate introduced legislation which would establish an interagency menopause council to undertake research, disseminate evidence-based knowledge and develop state-supported treatment services. All candidates, across the country, should be called upon to support initiatives like these.
Third, education is essential. Although half of the U.S. population is postmenopausal, most patients have difficulty finding a doctor who can help them. For what? According to a Mayo Clinic investigation20% of US-based medical residents in obstetrics, family medicine, and internal medicine reported having zero menopause training; more than 7% of respondents said they felt adequately prepared to treat postmenopausal patients. One of the House billsa bipartisan effort, would create a national public awareness campaign and fund national medical education initiatives. Licensing boards are already realizing this: This month, the Federation of State Medical Boards agreed to provide continuing medical education credits for doctors who watch a new PBS film about menopause, “The M Factor” (of which one of us was an executive producer).
Other issues in this election, such as access to IVF and hormonal contraceptives, as well as threats to the independence of federal agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Food and Drug Administration – can also significantly affect the lives of women near or in menopause.
Menopausal voters — as well as those whose family members are menopausal or who are themselves on the brink of perimenopause, typically women in their 30s or 40s — are a powerful force. Reproductive health is also their fight.
Anthropologist Margaret Mead famously declared: “There is no greater power in the world than the zest of a menopausal woman.” The zest is great. The same goes for a strong political agenda. Women should vote like their lives depend on it, because they do.
Jennifer Weiss-Wolfexecutive director of the Birnbaum Women’s Leadership Center at New York University Law School, is the author of the forthcoming book “Period. Complete stop. The politics of menopause. Tamsen remainingjournalist and co-executive producer of “The M Factor,” is the author of the upcoming book “How to Menopause: Take Charge of Your Health, Reclaim Your Life, and Feel Even Better Than Before.”