Washington- Actor Halle Berry joined a group of bipartisan senators Thursday to announce new legislation to promote menopause research, training and education.
“I’m here because I stand up for myself. Because I know that when a woman stands up for herself, she stands up for all women,” Berry said. “And all women go through menopause.”
The bill, called the Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act, is sponsored by a group of women, including Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat; Lisa Murkowski, a Republican from Alaska; Tammy Baldwin, Democrat of Wisconsin; Susan Collins, Republican of Maine; Amy Klobuchar, a Democrat from Minnesota; and Shelley Moore Capito, Republican from West Virginia. It would spend tens of millions of dollars on menopause research, public awareness and training for health care providers.
“Menopause is not a dirty word. It’s not something to be ashamed of. And it’s not something that Congress or the federal government should ignore,” Murray said. “There is no excuse for neglecting this issue when it comes to federal dollars.”
Murray said that when she first came to Congress, issues like child care, paid leave, workplace harassment and women’s health were “an afterthought at best.” But she said the country has come a long way in terms of women’s representation in Congress and attention to these issues.
“There are still many ways in which women’s needs are ignored, neglected or stigmatized – and menopause is a prime example,” Murray said. “For too long, menopause has been neglected, underinvested in and left behind.”
Berry told reporters that her own doctor refused to even say the word “menopause” to her.
“I said to him, ‘You know why I have this problem, don’t you?’ And he said, ‘Yes, I know.'” When she asked him why, he said, “‘Tell me why you have this problem.’” After some back and forth, “I have. finally realized he I’m not going to say it,” Berry said. “So I said to myself, ‘OK, I’m going to have to do what no man can do: I have to say it. I said, ‘I’m menopausal!'”
The path forward for the legislation in Congress remains unclear. But Murray said the current goal is to get as many cosponsors as possible before taking the bill to Senate leadership. And Thursday’s bipartisan presentation, along with the injection of celebrity, suggested there could be another dinner in the Upper House.
Murkowski said the effort gained momentum after a meeting with Berry at the Capitol last year, where the Alaska senator described a moment when “you kind of stop and say, ‘Why not , why didn’t we focus on menopause?'”
“Why has this become this question that seems to be a bit taboo?” » said Murkowski. “Why haven’t we allowed ourselves to really look at the whole of women’s lives?”
Berry, who has spoken openly about her own experience of menopause, argued for the “shame” of coming out of menopause.
“We need to eliminate the stigma,” she said. “We need to talk about this very normal part of our lives that’s happening.”
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