President Joe Biden signed an executive order Monday the White House says will federal women’s health research through a new $200 million multi-agency investment, targeting research gaps in post-menopausal conditions, such as arthritis, heart attack and osteoporosis.
US President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden deliver remarks at a campaign event in Atlanta, ... [+]
The executive order includes more than 20 new directives to the Departments of Health and Human Services, Defense, Veterans Affairs and the National Science Foundation, what the Biden administration called “the most comprehensive set of executive actions ever taken to expand and improve research on women’s health.”
The order will increase data collection efforts in the Health and Human Services Department and require the Department of Defense and Veterans Affairs to enhance treatment and research related to menopause for service members, the White House says.
The Health and Human Services Department and the National Science Foundation will also study how artificial intelligence can be utilized to advance women’s health research.
The order comes as Biden has made reproductive health care a central focus of his 2024 re-election strategy as the issue continues to be a prominent concern for voters following Roe v. Wade’s reversal and the Alabama Supreme Court’s recent controversial IVF ruling.
The executive order does not address abortion or IVF.
55%. That’s the share of women who voted for Biden in 2020, according to the Associated Press’ VoteCast survey. Polls show he has continued to widen the gender gap between his supporters and those backing Trump, including a January Quinnipiac poll that found a five-point increase in support for Biden among women, while Trump’s support decreased five points, compared to its poll a month earlier.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden have ramped up women’s health initiatives during their time in the White House, announcing last month a $100 million research and development project, the Sprint for Women’s Health, through the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health. Biden called on Congress in his State of the Union address earlier this month to invest $12 billion in new funding for women’s health research. The president’s fiscal year 2025 budget request unveiled last week also asks Congress to double funding for the National Institute of Health’s Office of Research on Women’s Health. Biden in January, on the 50th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, unveiled new guidance to expand women’s access to contraceptives.