Tia’s Top 10 Game-changing Moments for Women’s Health in 2017
If you read the news with one eye open, you know that women stole the headlines this year. And women’s health was no exception!
Medical breakthroughs, political turmoil, and cultural milestones alike put our bodies — and our voices — on the front lines, and in the headlines. From major wins to major blows, here’s my recap of the top 10 *GAME-CHANGING* moments for women’s health in 2017.
#10: Pregnant women scored a grand slam 🏆
Tennis champ Serena Williams won the Australian open at 8 weeks pregnant…beating sweltering heat — and her big sister Venus — to remind all of us that the female body is capable of incredible things.
“Pregnant or not…I was supposed to win that tournament,” she said — forever redefining the phrase “Mother Knows Best.”
#9: Periods took center stage.
Menstrual equality became a political and cultural mantra this year — with activists, policymakers, and next-gen femcare brands alike bringing issues like access and quality of menstrual products to the forefront.
To name a few highlights — Representative Grace Meng of New York introduced a bill called the Menstrual Products Right to Know Act, which requires menstrual hygiene products — including tampons, pads, and menstrual cups — to list their ingredients on the package.
The Federal Bureau of Prisons also mandated free access to tampons and pads for incarcerated women, and NYC became the first city in the country to provide free menstrual products in all jails, public schools and homeless shelters.
Meanwhile, Plan International advocated for a menstruation emoji (about time?!), and Jennifer Weiss-Wolf’s Periods Gone Public made a splash in bookstores.
#8: Sex ed suffered a major setback 😟
In a mind-boggling move, the Department of Health and Human Services cut grants for teen pregnancy prevention programs by $213 million.
The decision significantly undermines the Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program (TPP) spearheaded by President Obama in 2010, which created a standard of evidence-based sexual education that contributed to a 41% decline in teen pregnancy (more than double the rate of any other 6-year period).
#7: We figured out WTF is up with PMDD.
In a breakthrough hailed as a “holy grail,” scientists discovered the mechanism behind Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) — an extreme form of PMS that roughly 8% of menstruating humans suffer through every month.
The research established a molecular cause for the long-misunderstood disorder, revealing that certain genes behave atypically in response to estrogen and progesterone in patients with PMDD.
The impact of these findings extend beyond PMDD sufferers alone, and represent a step-forward in the centuries-old battle women have been fighting to have their distinct health concerns taken seriously.
#6: The dialogue surrounding sex and gender finally hit the mainstream.
Time ran a cover story exploring non-binary gender, Scientific American dedicated a whole issue to visualizing sex as a spectrum, and other high-profile articles shed light on systemic barriers blocking doctors from providing trans-inclusive healthcare and gender-affirming surgery.
And, although the Trump administration revoked trans bathroom rights in schools, the first national study on gender identity established that 1 in 137 teens identify as transgender — long-awaited data crucial to shaping future policy, and improving mental health for trans youth.
Meanwhile, a trans woman developed (and became the first patient to undergo) a groundbreaking procedure to create a self-lubricating surgical vagina, and the first baby in the US born via uterus transplant led scientists to speculate that pregnancy for trans women could be just around the corner.
#5: Abortion rights continued to be attacked on the federal and state levels.
To name a few noteworthy laws enacted this year:
Alabama banned abortion by establishing fetal personhood, Iowa and Kentucky banned abortion after 20 weeks, and Iowa and Maryland restricted coverage under Medicaid.
Meanwhile, 8 states enacted “TRAP laws” — laws that slowly erode access to abortion by introducing medically unnecessary regulations for abortion providers — and 9 states voted to increase funding for anti-choice crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs).
President Trump also signed a resolution allowing states to withhold Title X funding from family planning providers like Planned Parenthood, because they offer abortion, furthering the access gap in red states vs. blue states.
But, in a rare glimpse of *positive* news, 17-year-old undocumented immigrant “Jane Doe” captured media attention by successfully challenging the Department of Justice and securing an abortion in Texas, an important reminder to all of us that behind every abortion statistic, there’s an individual — who deserves compassion to make an independent and informed choices for themselves and their own circumstances.
#4: We passed the mic to survivors.
The culture of silence around sexual assault came crashing down in 2017, as the #MeToo movement founded by Tarana Burke went viral. Suddenly, not only were millions of people sharing their experiences — but, finally, the world was listening.
Movie stars, execs and everyday women alike spoke out, taking down powerful men in every industry — and permanently reshaping the convo around consent, and the power dynamics that have historically kept women silent. Silence, no more!
#3: We beat Trumpcare, but lost the birth control mandate.
After months of an intense battle in Washington to “repeal and replace the ACA,” Trumpcare failed to clear the Senate. While not quite a #winning moment that improved the state of women’s healthcare, it did preserve many core elements of Obamacare (for now) — preventing the defunding of Medicare, Planned Parenthood, and the slashing of many other essential benefits like maternity care.
Only a few months later though, Trump went around Congress entirely and rolled back the ACA contraceptive mandate by changing employer opt-out policies, allowing employers to opt-out of covering birth control in their health insurance plans for “moral” reasons — putting the onus on individual states and employers to step up to defend birth control coverage.
#2: We made medical research less sexist.
2017 marked the first year that the NIH guidelines required funded research to analyze sex as a variable in their findings.
Aimed at improving our understanding of how diseases and treatments affect men and women differently, this decision represents a big step forward towards overcoming a long history of gender bias in medical research and clinical trials.
#1: We marched 5 million strong 💪
Setting the stage for women-as-warriors in 2017, the Women’s March made history as the largest-ever single-day protest in the U.S.
In cities across the country and around the world, we took to the streets, and made our voices heard on reproductive rights and healthcare reform — as well as LGBTQ issues, disability awareness, immigration policy and racial justice — to collectively embody a feminist movement that’s healthier, more diverse, and driven towards action and tangible change than ever before.
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To makin’ MOVES in 2018!
🥂 Tia
