Actress Halle Berry has officially become a menopause activist, seeking $275 million in funding for research and raising awareness from the Capitol steps on Thursday in the company of senators from both sides of the political aisle.
Berry turns 58 years old this year and is proudly declaring that she is in menopause. That’s the stage of life for women that occurs when they experience a hormone shift and their menstrual cycles come to an end.
“I’m in menopause, OK?” Berry proclaimed. “The shame has to be taken out of menopause. We have to talk about this very normal part of our life that happens.”
“Our doctors can’t even say the word to us, let alone walk us through the journey,” she dramatically claimed.
Halle Berry shares how a doctor dodged the word “menopause” at a recent visit, while promoting new bipartisan legislation to support menopause research
pic.twitter.com/48Ay158iVc— Country Over Party (@gagirlpolitics) May 3, 2024
“I said to him, ‘You know why I’m having this issue, right?’ And he says, ‘Yes, I know.’” She said when she asked him why, he responded, “‘You tell me why you’re having the issue.’” After going back and forth, “I finally realized he wasn’t going to say it,” Berry told reporters according to CBS News. “So I thought, ‘OK, I’m going to have to do what no man can do: I have to say it. I said, ‘I’m in menopause!’”
Wow, so your doc is not even reviewing your chart during your visit, otherwise he would have known damn well how old you are and why you are having that issue.
— Kitty (@KM_Zencat) May 2, 2024
The bipartisan bill is titled the “Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women’s Health Act.” It advocates for an increase in funding for hormone therapy and clinical trials related to menopause. The treatment applies to “hot flashes” that some women experience as their chemistry changes due to age.
“After receiving a false diagnosis of Herpes, Berry found out the truth about her painful symptoms: she was experiencing perimenopause, or the beginning stages of menopause when estrogen levels begin to drastically decrease,” the Daily Mail reported.
“Under a proposal by Democratic Sen. Patty Murray of Washington and Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, $125 million would be set aside for clinical trials, public health and medical research on menopause. The remaining money would help support menopause detection and diagnosis, train doctors on treating menopause, and raising public awareness around it,” the Associated Press reported.
Seventeen female senators stood with Berry during the announcement. Three were Republicans, thirteen were Democrats, and one was an independent.
Wait, did I miss something? When did menopause become stigmatized?
— The Real Really Hyper Annoyed (@Hyperannoyed) May 2, 2024
“Menopause is not a bad word, it’s not something to be ashamed of, and it’s not something Congress or the federal government should ignore,” Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) stated.
Berry joins a number of aging female celebrities speaking out about menopause… a time of life most women just take in stride. For female politicians and celebrities, it seems to have become yet another cause to advocate and grandstand for.
“Drew Barrymore has invested in Evernow, a menopause telemedicine company. Wile, a company that sells supplements, was founded by Judy Greer. Stripes, founded by Naomi Watts, offers menopause products,” the Daily Mail noted.
“Last year, President Joe Biden announced a new program to help improve federal research on women’s health, particularly menopause. The National Institutes of Health’s director, Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, said that there is not enough research done for women’s health, especially older women,” the outlet added.
Well, just lost a lot of respect for Halle Berry. Whose stigmatizing menopause? Sure, research it. But it’s hardly a top 10 issue of our times. Millions upon millions of women have gone through it and come out just fine.
— UltraMAGA (@1988BaileyPk) May 3, 2024
To pass the legislation, it will need the support of male politicians and conservatives in general.
“While the legislation gained rare bipartisan support, the future of the bill is uncertain given the nation’s polarizing political climate and the presidential election just around the corner. Although Congress is notoriously male-dominated, Murkowski said she was looking forward to winning their support, as their fiscal support is pivotal in funding research,” the Daily Mail wrote.
“If men went through menopause we would have adequately and appropriately funded the research (into) menopause decades and decades ago,” Murkowski asserted.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Terresa Monroe-Hamilton
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://americanwirenews.com and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.