Halle Berry on Thursday shared a story about how a doctor dodged the word “menopause” at a recent visit, while promoting new bipartisan legislation to support menopause research.
“He said, ‘Oh my God, I could never say that to you. Look at you. You don't look like you're in menopause. I could never say that. And if I said that to all of my female clients, they'd punch me,” Berry said at a news conference with a bipartisan group of female senators supporting the legislation. “I knew that is why I'm here doing this work. Because it has to be destigmatized. The shame has to be taken out of menopause.
“We have to talk about this very normal part of our life that happens. Our doctors can't even say the word to us, let alone walk us through the journey of what our menopausal years look like, or our years after that.”
The bill, called the Advancing Menopause Care and Mid-Life Women's Health Act, would devote $275 million for menopause research, raising public awareness, and training health care providers.
“When I have these moments — real moments that happen to me — I know that every other woman around this country are having these real moments as well. They're lost, they're afraid, they don't have direction, and they need help,” Berry said. “I'm here as a citizen of the United States, as a woman who is demanding that our government give us what we need, because we deserve it.”
