President Biden signs executive order to increase women-centered health research

President Biden has signed an extensive executive order to support women’s health research.

The announcement, which came during Women’s History Month, calls for the National Institutes for Health to invest $200 million in the 2025 fiscal year into more than 20 new actions to address gaps in women’s health research.

The research will target health issues unique to women, such as menopause, perimenopause and endometriosis. It will also address heart attacks, Alzheimer's, rheumatoid arthritis and osteoporosis – health conditions women tend to experience after menopause – and look to expand resources for women learning about their treatment options.

The work will get done through several departments, including the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the National Science Foundation.

“Women are more than half of our population but research on women’s health has always been underfunded,” Biden said during his State of the Union address. “That’s why we’re launching the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, led by Jill who is doing an incredible job as First Lady.”

The executive order comes after the announcement of The White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research in November 2023 and after the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) committed to investing $100 million into women’s research.

The first lady has been at the helm of the initiative saying the need for women-focused medical research is long overdue. She will be in Virginia and North Carolina on Wednesday to tout the White House’s investments in women’s health.

“Research on women’s health has always been underfunded, many medical studies have focused on men and left women out, many of the medicine dosages, treatments, medical school textbooks, are based on men and their bodies – and that information doesn’t always apply to women,” Jill Biden said in remarks about ARPA-H funding.

The order requires that agencies report their investments in women’s health research in order to assess where the cracks in funding may lie.

The research would also target a few specific communities. For example, it instructs the U.S. Department of Defense to study menopause for Service women and veterans. It also includes focus groups under the Indian Health Service to study beliefs about menopause among American Indian and Alaska Native women.

Biden also called on congress to pass a $12 billion plan that would increase funding for women’s health research.

The order comes during an election year where women’s rights continue to push conversation and debate.

Along with sharing this women-forward initiative, Biden touted his support for Roe v. Wade during his State of the Union speech and said reproductive rights will be a highlight in 2024 voter turnout.

“Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade have no clue about the power of women in America,” Biden said during his State of the Union address. “They found out though when reproductive freedom was on the ballot and won in 2022, 2023 and they will find out again in 2024.”

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Biden signs executive order to prioritize women's health research