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arizona state senator tells colleagues she’s having an abortion

the top things to know in women’s health and wellness today:

  • Arizona state Sen. Eva Burch went to the floor and told her colleagues she was about to have an abortion. Why? She wanted them to know how the laws they passed affected women
     
  • White House Gender Policy Council Director Jen Klein tells The 19th that one big part of the president’s executive action is accountability to track exactly how much the government spends (or doesn’t spend) on women’s health research.
     
  • An economic analysis from the United Kingdom finds women can lose up to 20% of their earnings due to menopause.

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Everything
Pregnancy
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Menopause

Metabolism + Weight

TOP STORIES TODAY: the most important reads we’ve found, and why they matter.

EVERYTHING

The Four Big Goals of Biden Executive Action on Women’s Health

What: The 19th digs into the Biden administration’s executive orders on women’s health, breaking them down into “four major components: prioritizing women’s health research and research innovation; strengthening research and data standards related to women’s health; galvanizing new research on women’s midlife health, with a focus on conditions that occur after menopause, like heart attacks, Alzheimer’s disease and osteoporosis; and an assessment from the Office of Management and Budget to better understand the unmet funding needs when it comes to women’s health research.”

Why it matters: As Jennifer Klein, director of the White House Gender Policy Council, put it: “First we need to know exactly how much the federal government spends on health research, because even that isn’t completely known. And then we need to identify where those gaps are and then have agencies report every year on the progress towards closing those gaps.”

Source: The 19th

PREGNANCY

How an Abortion Ban Changed Health Care in Louisiana

What: A new analysis found that pregnant women in Louisiana “have been given risky, unnecessary surgeries, denied swift treatment for miscarriages and ectopic pregnancies, and forced to wait until their life is at risk before getting an abortion.” Authors interviewed 30 health care providers in the state, making it one of the most comprehensive analyses since Roe fell.

Why it matters: The authors conclude that “Louisiana’s ban is impeding a federal law that regulates the provision of emergency health care,” and that women have likely died and will continue dying, unnecessarily.

Source: NPR

ABORTION ACCESS

Arizona State Senator Shares Her Abortion Experience on Senate Floor

What: In an incredible floor speech, Arizona state Sen. Eva Burch, a Democrat, told her colleagues she was having yet another abortion. Burch has suffered through several nonviable pregnancies, and this time, she decided to tell her colleagues just how much more difficult the laws they wrote–on waiting periods; mandated, transvaginal ultrasounds; and “counseling”—made the process.

Why it matters: Watch her speech and see for yourself.

Source: Washington Post

MENOPAUSE

Menopause Can Cost Women 20% of Earnings

What: An economic analysis from the United Kingdom finds that menopause can cause a 20% earnings loss for women, due to an increase in doctors visits and a “persistent decline in full-time employment and earnings.”

Why it matters: Putting numbers to this phenomenon helps show how “policies aimed at supporting women who suffer more serious symptoms around the menopausal transition may have wide-ranging benefits.”

Source: Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)

METABOLISM + WEIGHT

Oprah on Weight Loss Meds: Obesity Is a Disease of the Brain

What: Oprah’s special on weight loss medication aired last night, and she shared her personal struggles with her own body. (That includes starving herself on a liquid diet.) Now that she’s on a medication to help her stop yo-yoing, Oprah said she’s done with shame: “The number one thing I hope people come away with is knowing that [obesity] is a disease, and it’s in the brain.”

Why it matters: When Oprah talks, millions end up listening.

Source: ABC News