Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) wrote First Lady Dr. Jill Biden to applaud her and the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts with the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research, as well as to urge the further prioritization of uterine fibroids research funding through the historic initiative.
“We write to applaud the Biden-Harris Administration’s action in establishing the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research – a historic undertaking that exemplifies this administration’s unprecedented commitment to addressing the health inequities faced by women in this country. Moreover, it represents a significant step forward in accelerating research on the health needs of women across their lifespans. For decades, the longstanding inequities in women’s health research have produced devastating downstream health impacts and economic implications,” wrote Clarke.
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She added,“In my own life, I’ve long confronted a condition that, like so many others that exclusively affect women, is critically underfunded – uterine fibroids. Uterine fibroids, or noncancerous growths of the uterus, are one of the most common gynecological conditions nationwide. Approximately 26 million individuals in the U.S. from ages 15 to 50 have fibroids, contributing an estimated $5.9 billion to $34.4 billion in costs to the healthcare system annually. Unfortunately, diagnosis and treatment of fibroids is often challenging. Symptoms like irregular menstruation are consistently normalized by patients and providers alike, and many patients spend years without an accurate diagnosis. Beyond treatment being frequently invasive, it has the potential to negatively affect fertility. It’s clear, today, that there is a great need for meaningful improvements in uterine fibroids prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.”
The following includes the content of the letter addressed to First Lady Dr. Jill Biden:
Dear Dr. Biden:
We write to applaud the Biden-Harris Administration’s action in establishing the first-ever White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research— a historic undertaking that exemplifies this administration’s unprecedented commitment to addressing the health inequities faced by women in this country. Moreover, it represents a significant step forward in accelerating research on the health needs of women across their lifespans. For decades, the longstanding inequities in women’s health research have produced devastating downstream health impacts and economic implications.
Women’s health encompasses reproduction-related health issues, like menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, uterine fibroids, and general conditions that impact women differently, such as migraines, coronary artery disease, and rheumatoid arthritis – you are well aware, that research on these conditions remains severely underfunded. Although women make up 50 percent of the nation’s population, in recent years, only 10 percent of the National Institute of Health’s (NIH) $45 billion research budget has been spent on researching women’s health issues.’ It was not until the passage of the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act in 1993 that the NIH was even required to include women and minorities in clinical trials.2 Three decades later, funding for women’s health issues continues to fall short – for example, of the top 19 cancers, ovarian cancer ranks fifth in lethality, but twelfth in its funding to-lethality ratio.3 Cervical cancer, another deadly and common cancer found exclusively in women, follows a similar pattern.4
In my own life, I’ve long confronted a condition that, like so many others that exclusively affect women, is critically underfunded – uterine fibroids. Uterine fibroids, or noncancerous growths of the uterus, are one of the most common gynecological conditions nationwide. Approximately 26 million individuals in the U.S. from ages 15 to 50 have fibroids, contributing an estimated $5.9 billion to $34.4 billion in costs to the healthcare system annually. Unfortunately, diagnosis and treatment of fibroids is often challenging. Symptoms like irregular menstruation are consistently normalized by patients and providers alike, and many patients spend years without an accurate diagnosis. Beyond treatment being frequently invasive, it has the potential to- negatively affect fertility. It’s clear, today, that there is a great need for meaningful improvements in uterine fibroids prevention, diagnosis, and treatment.
As a Member of Congress, I am working tirelessly to pass necessary legislation to address this important issue. I am proud to have introduced, H.R. 4572, The Stephanie Tubbs Jones Uterine Fibroid Research and Education Act of 2023, alongside my colleagues in the House, Reps. Robin Kelly (IL-02), Bonnie Watson Coleman (NJ- 12), and David Scott (GA-13), along with a bipartisan version in the Senate by Senators Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Shelley Capito (R-WV). The bill would increase research funding for uterine fibroids, improve awareness and training, and seek to measure costs to government payers. Furthermore, it would direct the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to establish a database of services furnished to individuals diagnosed with uterine fibroids and develop a report on federal and state expenditures for such services, along with requiring them to disseminate information on uterine fibroids to the public and health care providers.
This legislation is supported by The Fibroid Foundation, The White Dress Project, Society for Women’s Health Research, March of Dimes, American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Black Girls Vote, Black Women’s Health Imperative, CARE About Fibroid, Healthy Women, and The National Organization of Black Legislative Women, and many other advocacy groups in this space.
Women are valuable members of our society, and we must do more to address the conditions that primarily impact them. The launch of the White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research has provided our essential cause with an instrumental tool to change the landscape of women’s healthcare for the better. We welcome the opportunity to discuss the intersection of this initiative and uterine fibroids further, and we stand ready to assist in any efforts to ensure uterine fibroids are prioritized.
Sincerely,
Yvette Clarke
Member of Congress
CC: Jennifer Klein, Director, White House Gender Policy Council
Carolyn Mazure, PhD, Director, White House Initiative on Women’s Health Research
