President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Monday that is aimed at facilitating improved studies on women’s health.
The order is based partly on improved data collection and is aimed at providing enhanced opportunities for biomedical research through easier access to funding.
Studies and medical research were previously conducted mostly on men, but a change in legislation implemented in the 1990s brought out more funding for medical research on women, who comprise around half of the U.S. population.
However, much of modern research fails to adequately address the differences between men’s and women’s health, thus facilitating less ground for studying health issues most common in women, something the executive order aims at addressing, according to aides.
“We still know too little about how to effectively prevent, diagnose and treat a wide array of health conditions in women,” said Dr. Carolyn Mazure, the head of the White House initiative on women’s health.
The executive order also provides fertile ground for the president’s re-election campaign, specifically because women comprise most of the president’s voter demographic, effectively having accounted for more than half of his voter coalition in the 2020 election.
Efforts to organize and mobilize female voters will be led by First Lady Jill Biden, who is also spearheading efforts on the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research.
In addition, President Biden’s executive order comes as several states have implemented stricter abortion laws after the Supreme Court ruled against abortion access in some states and other procedures relating to pregnancies, such as IVFs.
According to White House adviser Jennifer Klein, new efforts by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) into the treatment of menopausal symptoms will also be initiated, largely centered around identifying any research gaps and working to close them. The institute is reportedly already funding research into the proper application of medicines and dosage.
The measures were announced by President Biden and First Lady Jill Biden at a Women’s History Month reception at the White House.
Vice President Kamala Harris and women’s health advocate Maria Shriver were also at the reception.
“Finally, women will get the health care we deserve,” First Lady Biden said at the event.
According to Dr. Mazure, the basis for future studies will largely focus on the different symptoms some conditions have in men and women, including heart disease and Alzheimer’s disease.
Further research will also apply to other conditions unique to women, such as endometriosis, uterine cancers, and fibroids found in the uterus.
Through balanced research, issues such as overmedication and side effects of medical treatments in women could be adequately addressed, as previous research on dosage was based on trials mostly conducted on men.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.