Many menopausal patients already struggle to admittance care . Now , they ’re apprehensive Project 2025 could make it unimaginable .
At 38, I’m the first of my same-age friends to hit menopause. I’m inmedically-induced menopauseafterbeating breast cancerlast year. In search of community, I spend a lot of time lurking in online forums dedicated to talking about menopause, perimenopause, and all the ~surprises~ that this time of life can bring. I’ve learned so much from reading about the experiences of others, and it helps me feel less alone.
FYI : Perimenopauserefers to the years when a person ’s oestrogen point start to dip , commonly leading to symptoms like spicy jiffy , Nox sweat , and more . Menopause is typically diagnose when a person has n’t had a period for 12 months . aesculapian menopause is when drugs are used to block hormones to treat another aesculapian condition , like certain cancers .
The average age of change of life in the US is 51 — but perimenopause can commence as early on as your 30s .
Lately, I’ve noticed a bit of a vibe shift as conversations aboutProject 2025are popping up more and more in previously-non-political meno communities.
Heritage Foundation president celebrate Supreme Court presidential immunity ruling : " We are in the process of the second American Revolution , which will stay exsanguinous if the left allows it to be"https://t.co / ndMJlNlUKH
Though the word “menopause” doesn’t appear in Project 2025, attacks on birth control access and trans healthcare have some folks worried that putting a Republican in the White House could have damaging effects on the menopause community, too. Because the thing that women’s reproductive rights, trans healthcare, and menopause care all have in common are hormonal-based medications.
Hormones are also used by transgender people who choose to undergo medical transition. This can include estrogen, testosterone, and hormone blockers. In fact, the same injection I get every month to prevent breast cancer recurrence is also given as a puberty blocker for transgender youth, and in both cases, it’s a potentially lifesaving medication.
Hormones and internal secretion blockers do so many different matter for so many different people . A hormonal IUD helps my friend with endometriosis have light , less painful periods . A internal secretion prescription drug help my trans - masculine protagonist last as their unfeigned and most joyful ego . And hormone blockers help me sleep easier at night by keeping my Cancer the Crab from coming back . All of our narrative are bound up in each other . It ’s one of the many reasons why I believe that trans rights are human rightfulness , time period .
Unfortunately, hormone replacement therapy for menopause has gotten an undeserved bad reputation. Dr. Mikkilineni explained that one highly publicized yet deeply flawed study on hormone replacement therapy in menopause that came out in 2002scareda generation of women away from using HRT in perimenopause and menopause. Though the study has been widely critiqued, some doctors today are still wary of prescribing hormone replacement therapy for menopausal patients.
Sadly, the HRT stigma continues to make it difficult for folks to get the care they want and need — even without a Republican in power. I often read posts from people who’ve had to go to multiple doctors to finally be believed about their symptoms and get a prescription for hormones. Some doctors still hesitate to prescribe actual hormone therapy and instead put perimenopausal patients on hormonal birth control pills, which typically contain lower doses of hormones than true hormone replacement therapy.
Are menopausal women right to be concerned? Dr. Mikkilineni shared her take, saying, “It’s a really tough time to be an OB-GYN in general, but any kind of restrictions that affect bodily autonomy, access to care, and the ability of a doctor to practice evidence-based medicine are hugely concerning. I feel like Project 2025 and regulations on reproductive health policies will absolutely have a broader impact on healthcare and the ability of physicians to practice evidence-based medicine.”
Casting aside decades of scientific research in favor of laws based on one group’s religious preferences, like the proposals contained in Project 2025, sets a dangerous precedent for everyone’s healthcare in America. In a system where precedent is often used when making legislation, having the government interfere in one form of medical treatment could open the door to more and more unscientific regulations. It also goes against the principles of religious freedom that this country was founded on.
Should a president with no medical background make medical decisions for hundreds of millions of masses ? Given the Republican party’sgrim data track recordon sympathy even the most basic facts about the distaff reproductive system , I vote no .
It’s especially chilling for menopausal women because of the current discourse about women’s place in society. Conservatives like Republican vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance haveimpliedthat childless women don’t have value. Taken with anti-abortion state laws that havedriven up maternal death rates, it adds up to a sinking feeling that conservatives don’t value women beyond our capacity to bear children. So what are we worth to them in menopause, when that part of our lives is over?
Women were told that we were beinghystericalfor worrying that former presidentDonald Trumpwould overturnRoe v. Wadein his first term. Then, we all watched helplessly as his Supreme Court appointees did just that. Trump has shown us who he is. It’s up to all of us to vote accordingly.
