President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Monday, March 18, 2024, to expand women’s healthcare research and strengthen data standards. The president also announced more than 20 new actions and commitments by federal agencies.
He also announced $200 million for research at the National Institutes of Health to understand women’s sexual and reproductive conditions. Following the announcement, the White House described the investments as a first step toward a “Fund on Women’s Health.”
During his State of the Union address earlier this month, Biden called on Congress to invest in women’s health. Before President Joe Biden signed the executive order, First Lady Jill Biden announced $100 million for women’s health in February.
In remarks at a Women’s History Month event at the White House, the president discussed women’s representation in government. President Joe Biden touted that women are active in his administration despite being “underrepresented across the board.”
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“We’re proud to have an administration that looks like America,” Biden said. “With more women serving in a senior position than any time in American history.” Furthermore, he praised Vice President Kamala Harris and his Supreme Court pick, Ketanji Brown Jackson.
In addition, Biden praised women serving in the Defense Department’s top ranks, including the first woman confirmed to serve on the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Furthermore, Biden stressed that research “has taken too long” to address women’s health care.
Hence, he said his executive order directs “the most comprehensive set of executive actions ever taken to improve” women’s health. While speaking at the event, President Joe Biden warned that his opponents are underestimating the “power of women” at the ballot box.
“Clearly, those bragging about overturning Roe v. Wade to support a national abortion ban have no clue about the power of women,” he said, referring to conservatives who support the Supreme Court’s 2022 decision to overturn the landmark ruling.
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“They’re going to speak out again in 2024 and send me a Democratic Congress that supports reproductive freedom,” he added. “I promise you, I promise you we will restore Roe v. Wade as the law of the land.”
After Biden’s speech at the event, the White House issued a statement. “These directives will ensure women’s health is integrated and prioritized across the federal research budget,” the White House said. “And will galvanize new research on various topics, including women’s midlife health.”
According to the World Economic Forum and McKinsey, women globally live five years longer than men on average. However, they spend 25% more of their lives in poor health. Also, women’s health remains underrepresented in clinical trials, and conditions affecting women see less research than those that impact men.
President Joe Biden has asked Congress for $12 billion in new funding for women’s health research. However, new financial commitments are hard to come by in a politically divided legislature, especially during an election year. The $200 million executive order signed on Monday will take effect in the 2025 fiscal year, which starts this October.
The executive order comes after a widespread backlash over a recent Alabama Supreme Court ruling on in vitro fertilization treatments. The Alabama ruling considers embryos to be children, prompting state Republicans to pass bills to protect the procedure swiftly.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly condemned the Supreme Court’s overturning of the landmark Roe v. Wade ruling in 2022. With Republicans clamping down on reproductive rights, Democrats have made it a focal point in their 2024 campaigns.
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