Centering Menopause: Dr. Sharon Malone and Jennifer Weiss-Wolf on the Menopause Research Act of 202
(A lengthy, important read)
Centering Menopause: Dr. Sharon Malone and Jennifer Weiss-Wolf on the Menopause Research Act of 2022
10/3/2022 by Clio Morrison
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf (left) and Dr. Sharon Malone co-authored a Washington Post op-ed on menopause research, spurring federal legislation to resolve gaps in existing research. (Courtesy)
After spearheading the U.S. legal playbook for menstrual equity, Ms.’s Jennifer Weiss-Wolf recently remarked that menopause advocacy seemed like the obvious “postscript.” This past April, she partnered with Dr. Sharon Malone—a nationally recognized physician and expert in women’s health and menopause care—to co-author a Washington Post op-ed, “America lost its way on menopause research. It’s time to get back on track.” (You can also check out Malone featured in The Michelle Obama Podcast episode, “What Your Mother Never Told You About Health with Dr. Sharon Malone.”) Their Washington Post op-ed became the catalyst for a new bipartisan bill, The Menopause Research Act of 2022, recently introduced in the House by Rep. David McKinley (R-W.V.) and Rep. Cindy Axne (D-Iowa). If passed, the bill would require the National Institutes of Health to conduct an evaluation of menopause-related research, coordinate a plan of action to resolve apparent gaps in the research and identify further research needed.
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The Menopause Research Act of 2022
This bill provides an opportunity for us to come back and get it right, about not just menopause, but about women’s healthcare in all arenas. “A large study that was done almost 30 years ago was supposed to answer some of these long-term health issues and questions that we’ve had about menopause. It was halted prematurely—a move that caused irreparable harm, not just in terms of the medical knowledge that we weren’t able to gather in these 20 years since, but it also really put the kibosh on new research.”
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“We don’t spend enough time, effort and resources on women’s healthcare, and particularly when it comes to women of a certain age. This bill provides an opportunity for us to come back and get it right, about not just menopause, but about women’s healthcare in all arenas.”
—Malone
“I view policy as having both a micro and macro effect on society. The micro effect is what the bill actually does—in this case, the funding of menopause research that is wholly needed. The macro level is normalizing talking about menopause, prioritizing menopause and making it a part of proactive agendas.
“Policy demonstrates what we value through the kinds of laws we pass. Policy shows us who is important in our society.”
—Weiss-Wolf
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https://www.instagram.com/jenniferweisswolf/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=b858c9a4-7b4f-48d8-a903-a4bac1d46c9d
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Take Action
October is World Menopause Month. Ms. readers interested in advocating for menopause can take action in three ways:
Call your member of Congress to urge them to support The Menopause Research Act of 2022.
Make similar demands of your state and local representatives to call attention to menopause.
Break the stigma yourself by talking and sharing stories about menopause.
https://msmagazine.com/2022/10/03/menopause-research/
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