05/09/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 05/09/2024 12:48
May 9, 2024
Today, U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, alongside 16 other women senators, introduced historic, comprehensive new bipartisan legislation that would be the most expansive effort so far to boost federal research on menopause and would-for the first time-coordinate the federal government's existing programs related to menopause and mid-life women's health. The Advancing Menopause and Mid-Life Women's Health Act, authorized at $275 million over five years, would strengthen and expand federal research on menopause, health care workforce training, awareness and education efforts, and public health promotion and prevention to better address menopause and mid-life women's health issues. The legislation is being championed by Halle Berry, who has done extensiveadvocacy around menopause, speaking out and sharing her story to challenge the stigma around menopause.
75 million women are in perimenopause, menopause, or post-menopause right now in the U.S.-with 6,000 more women reaching menopause each day. But despite the fact that half the population in the U.S. will eventually experience menopause, menopause research has long been underinvested in and overlooked. To date, there are few federally funded clinical trials on menopause and menopausal hormone therapy and very little menopause education for doctors-only 30 percent of U.S. OB-GYN residency programs offer a formal menopause curriculum according to a recent survey, and 80 percent of OB-GYN residents admit to being ill-prepared to discuss menopause.
"It's unfathomable that menopause - a condition that more than half the population will eventually experience - has been stigmatized, overlooked, and understudied," said Senator Gillibrand. "I'm proud to be introducing this legislation to give menopause research the funding and attention it deserves and help keep women healthy throughout their lives."
"By advocating for my own health and wellbeing during menopause, I am not only standing up for myself but for all women," said Halle Berry. "Because, if we are fortunate enough to live this long, we will all experience this phase of life. Today is a call to action for each and every one of us to stand together and demand the care and attention that we so vitally deserve."
The Advancing Menopause and Mid-Life Women's Health Act would:
In the Senate, the legislation is also co-sponsored by Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), Susan Collins (R-ME), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Tina Smith (D-MN), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Mazie Hirono (D-HI), and Kyrsten Sinema (I-AZ).
The full text of the legislation is HERE.