Washington (AFP) - President Joe Biden on Monday signed an order to bolster women's health research as he took aim at Republicans "bragging" about overturning the national right to abortion and vowed to make them pay at the ballot box this November.
The initiative, aimed at closing gender gaps in clinical trials and care, comes as Democrats seek to channel voter anger over the rollback of reproductive rights in nearly half the country, following a landmark Supreme Court decision in 2022.
Flanked by First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and women's health advocate Maria Shriver, Biden said: "Those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade and supporting a national ban on abortion have no clue about the power of women."
"But they're finding out," he said, pointing to the results of the 2022 midterm elections in Congress when Democrats fared much better than expected because of fury over attacks on women's autonomy.
Medical research has long overlooked the specific needs of women, and it wasn't until 1993 that Congress passed a law mandating female participation.
The new executive order directs federal science agencies to collect comprehensive data on women's health and narrow research gaps on women's midlife wellbeing. Such regulations are particularly relevant as conditions including rheumatoid arthritis, heart attacks and osteoporosis become more likely after menopause.
"It matters because women make up two-thirds of those with Alzheimer's and no one knows why that is," said Shriver. "We make up 80 percent of those with autoimmune diseases, the majority of those with MS -- no one knows why that is," she added.
The order directs $200 million in fiscal year 2025 towards a new Fund on Women's Health overseen by the National Institutes of Health. Biden has also called on Congress to invest $12 billion towards the cause.
