Halle Berry shouts from the Capitol, ‘I’m in menopause’ as she seeks to end a stigma and win funding
WASHINGTON — Halle Berry joins a group of bipartisan senators pushing for legislation that would direct $275 million to research and education around menopause, the significant hormone shift women undergo in midlife.
The legislation calls on the federal government to spend more on clinical trials on menopause and on the hormone therapy used to treat hot flashes and other symptoms.
Berry, 57, shouted about menopause outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday. She said it was a word her own doctor told her he was afraid to say in front of her.
“I’m menopausal, okay?” Berry shouted, eliciting chuckles from the crowd. “The shame needs to be taken out of menopause. We need to talk about this very normal part of our lives that is happening. Our doctors can’t even say the word to us, let alone guide us through the journey.”
In recent months, the leading Hollywood actor has been open about the painful symptoms she experienced during perimenopause, which occurs before menopause when a woman’s estrogen levels begin to drop. Her doctor initially misdiagnosed herpes, a sexually transmitted disease for which both Berry and her partner tested negative.
Under the proposal of Democratic Senator Patty Murray of Washington and Republican Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, $125 million would be set aside for clinical trials, public health and medical research into menopause. The remaining money would help support the detection and diagnosis of menopause, train doctors in the treatment of menopause and raise public awareness about it.
“Menopause is not a bad word, it is not something to be ashamed of, and it is not something that Congress or the federal government should ignore,” Murray said.
The bill is supported by seventeen senators: three Republicans, thirteen Democrats, one independent and all women. Several senators said Thursday they hope the bill will also encourage doctors, women and men to speak more openly about the health milestones all women experience.
In addition to Berry, other celebrities have started talking more about menopause on talk shows and in interviews, with some even marketing related products. And last year, President Joe Biden introduced a new initiative to improve the federal government’s research on women’s health, including menopause. Dr. Monica Bertagnolli, director of the National Institutes of Health, has said that too little is known about women’s health at all stages of life. Her agency is the chief medical research arm of the federal government.
While the legislation has cleared one of Congress’ biggest hurdles — gaining bipartisan support — its prospects are uncertain. Getting bills through Congress at any time is difficult, and the challenges are now exacerbated by divisions on the Hill and the dwindling number of days on the legislative calendar before the November elections.
The group of women will have to get support from their male colleagues to make the money for menopause research a reality. Congress is overwhelmingly represented by men.
Murkowski said she looks forward to the support of her male counterparts. “If men were going through menopause, we would have adequately and adequately funded menopause research decades and decades ago.”
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Associated Press medical writer Lauran Neergaard contributed to this report.