ivf promises made but *not* kept

• Despite repeated promises on the campaign trail to require insurers to cover IVF, Trump administration officials said it's not likely to happen. (Shocking!)
   
• The Gates Foundation announced a $2.5 billion commitment to women's health through 2030, a more than 30% increase from the organizations spending on women's health over the past five years. 
   
• A survey of 3,000 women going through menopause found it takes a variety of treatments to best address the wide variety of symptoms. 

Gates Foundation Commits $2.5 Billion to Women’s Health

What: The Gates Foundation announced it will commit $2.5 billion in women's health research and development through 2030, an increase of more than 30% compared to the last five years. As much as 70% of the funds are expected to be used on research and development.

Key Line: "In an article published in the BMJ last week, Ru Cheng, the foundation’s director of women’s health initiatives, said that only 1% of global research and development funding is allocated to women’s health issues outside of oncology, and that between 2013 and 2023, only 8.8% of NIH-funded research focused exclusively on women."

Source: Axios
 

White House Won't Mandate IVF Care Despite Trump's Promises

What: The Washington Post has the details on how the Trump administration "has no plans" to require health insurers to cover IVF, despite Trump's repeated promises on the campaign trail. And instead of focusing on IVF, the White House has reportedly asked questions about “restorative reproductive medicine,” which essentially says women should improve overall health to improve fertility (something doctors already routinely suggest.)  

Key Line: “'The government is going to pay for it, or we’re going to get — we’ll mandate your insurance company to pay for it, which is going to be great. We’re going to do that,' Trump said in August 2024. 'We want to produce babies in this country, right?' More than six months into his second term, however, the Trump administration has not publicly proposed new federal subsidies to make IVF free or more affordable. In addition, White House officials are backing away from proposals discussed internally to mandate IVF coverage for the roughly 50 million people on the Obamacare exchanges, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations."

Source: Washington Post
 

The Backdoor Plan to Ban Birth Control

What: Jessica Valenti reports that Republicans are using a backdoor strategy to ban birth control by (inaccurately) identifying IUDs and emergency contraceptives as 'abortifacients' in court cases. By claiming these forms of birth control cause abortions, they can remove access without passing any laws.

Key Line: "Consider what happened in 2023 in Indiana, when a group of bipartisan lawmakers introduced legislation to increase contraception access for low-income Hoosiers. Republicans ended up removing all language referring to IUDs, because they were successfully lobbied by local anti-abortion activists who claimed IUDs were abortifacients. Republican Rep. Cindy Ledbetter said the bill was changed because 'we are a strong pro-life state.' That’s how they implement a backdoor ban."

Source: Abortion, Every Day

New Hampshire Becomes First State to Require Sterilization If Wanted

What: In July New Hampshire became the first state to pass a law requiring doctors to sterilize patients who request it, regardless of factors like age, number of children, marital status, or if sterilization is contrary to the physician's views on fertility. The bill was introduced by a state representative who has PCOS and said doctors kept pushing her away from a hysterectomy, even though she and her husband had decided they did not want kids. 

Key Line: “'A doctor should not withhold your needed treatment because the doctor doesn’t like the idea that you decided not to have kids or don’t want any more kids,' New Hampshire Democratic state Rep. Ellen Read, who sponsored the bill, said earlier this month during a panel at the National Foundation for Women Legislators."

Source: Stateline
 

What: A survey of over 3,000 women who were currently experiencing menopause (and opted in to the poll) found that different menopause symptoms were best addressed with different treatments. For example, 60% of women who reported hot flashes said a hormone therapy patch helped, while 76% pf  women who reported anxiety and nervousness found therapy helpful. These findings may seem obvious, but researchers say they point to a need for a comprehensive approach to menopause care. 

Key Line: "The findings demonstrate differential response rates to menopausal treatments across symptom domains, underscoring the importance of a comprehensive, multidimensional approach to menopausal symptom management. Utilizing a symptom checklist can facilitate the tailoring of treatment plans for specific symptom profiles and patient needs."

Source: BMC Women's Health