WASHINGTON, March 19, 2024 (BSS/AFP) - President Joe Biden on Monday signed
an order to bolster women's health research as he took aim at Republicans
"bragging" about overturning the national right to abortion and vowed to make
them pay at the ballot box this November.

The initiative, aimed at closing gender gaps in clinical trials and care,
comes as Democrats seek to channel voter anger over the rollback of
reproductive rights in nearly half the country, following a landmark Supreme
Court decision in 2022.

Flanked by First Lady Jill Biden, Vice President Kamala Harris and women's
health advocate Maria Shriver, Biden said: "Those bragging about overturning
Roe v. Wade and supporting a national ban on abortion have no clue about the
power of women."

"But they're finding out," he said, pointing to the results of the 2022
midterm elections in Congress when Democrats fared much better than expected
because of fury over attacks on women's autonomy.

Medical research has long overlooked the specific needs of women, and it
wasn't until 1993 that Congress passed a law mandating female participation.

The new executive order directs federal science agencies to collect
comprehensive data on women's health and narrow research gaps on women's
midlife wellbeing. Such regulations are particularly relevant as conditions
including rheumatoid arthritis, heart attacks and osteoporosis become more
likely after menopause.

"It matters because women make up two-thirds of those with Alzheimer's and no
one knows why that is," said Shriver. "We make up 80 percent of those with
autoimmune diseases, the majority of those with MS -- no one knows why that
is," she added.

The order directs $200 million in fiscal year 2025 towards a new Fund on
Women's Health overseen by the National Institutes of Health. Biden has also
called on Congress to invest $12 billion towards the cause.