Monday saw the signing of a new executive order by President Joe Biden that increases funding for women’s health research by the US government by $200 million for the following year in order to better understand topics such as sexual and reproductive diseases.
According to a White House description of the directive, Biden is also directing his administration to report on the steps taken to close the gender gap in research and to investigate the use of artificial intelligence in advancing women’s health research.
At the White House, Biden addressed a room full of women, including actress Halle Berry and former California First Lady Maria Shriver, saying, “I’m going to make sure women’s health is prioritized across the government.”
Additionally, according to aides, the National Institutes of Health is starting a new initiative on menopause and the management of menopausal symptoms that will identify knowledge gaps and seek to fill them.
According to the World Economic Forum and the McKinsey Health Institute, women live an average of five years longer than males worldwide, but they also experience poor health for a quarter of their lifetimes. Women continue to be underrepresented in clinical trials and are the subject of less study on illnesses than men.
According to aides, the executive order will mandate medical studies to better track gender variances.
“Today, we no longer base medical school materials, treatments, or medications on men and their bodies. Women will now receive the healthcare they are entitled to.
“At this moment in states across our nation we are witnessing a full on attack against hard fought hard won freedoms and rights, including the right of women to make decisions about their own body,” Kamala Harris, the vice president, stated.
Biden has requested $12 billion in additional financing from Congress for women’s health research; however, in an election year, it is difficult to pass new financial commitments in a politically split legislature.
If Congress approves the spending levels that Biden has asked, the administration would use the $200 million investment that was announced on Monday during the 2025 fiscal year, which begins in October.
In November’s election, the Democrat will run against Republican nominee and former president Donald Trump for a second four-year term.
Democrats believe that attacks on women’s healthcare could energize voters in the wake of the US Supreme Court overturning Roe v Wade abortion rights in 2022, given that women make up more than half of the electorate.
