Menopause and Perimenopause

A Very Bad Year for Women’s Health

PUBLISHED 12/24/2025 by

When I started writing for The Contrarian, a funny-not-funny inside joke was whether there would be enough fodder for a weekly democracy column that overtly centers gender. I think you already know the punchline. Suffice it to say, I did not miss a single Wednesday in all of 2025.

For my final entry of the year, we thought it worthwhile to offer a snapshot—a year’s worth of reporting on the depth of damage this administration has wreaked on women’s health, with real-time Contrarian reporting noted.

This FDA Decision Could Transform Menopause Care

PUBLISHED 11/12/2025 by and

On Monday, Nov. 10, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced that the Food and Drug Administration would eliminate the “boxed labeling” requirement for estrogen products.

The “black box warning,” as it’s commonly called, is part of the fallout from a press conference that occurred more than 20 years ago, announcing the findings of the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). It’s also been the subject of a half-century-long push and pull with the federal government.

Make no mistake, this has been a longstanding demand—it’s neither new nor MAHA-driven. Doctors and scientists have made the case for its removal since the start to no avail, arguing the data from the WHI—the largest, most expensive, and only randomized placebo-controlled study of post-menopausal women—never supported putting it there in the first place.

The FDA’s reversal of the labeling requirement is a major win for evidence-based medicine. Now it’s up to us to responsibly inform women of their choices.

FDA Rewrites the Story on Estrogen: A Win for Women

PUBLISHED 11/10/2025 by

Estrogen, the hormone long cast as a public health threat, has been unfairly maligned.

The FDA has finally announced it will remove the incorrect “boxed warning” from vaginal estrogen products and issue corrected labeling for other estrogen therapies—a much needed course correction for one of modern medicine’s most damaging missteps.

Meanwhile, at the FDA: Menopause Progress, Abortion Gaslighting

PUBLISHED 10/9/2025 by

The FDA caused a stir last week when it approved a new, generic version of mifepristone—the abortion medication that has safely, effectively and privately ended pregnancies for 25 years. Many mainstream outlets made it sound like a dramatic policy reversal, but really it was a procedural box check. Meanwhile, the Trump administration is already laying the groundwork to undermine access, announcing a so-called “safety review” based on flawed data and false claims. As reproductive rights advocates like Mini Timmaraju have pointed out, this is gaslighting—pretending to be moderate while plotting restrictions. That’s why protecting mifepristone still matters now.

At least there was some progress this week in menopause care: The FDA signaled plans to remove the “black box” warning on certain hormone treatments that has long stoked fear and confusion. Experts say the label was based on outdated science and has caused real harm, leaving countless women to suffer unnecessarily. For once, the agency seems poised to get this one right.

Vile Reactions to Strong Women Can’t Silence Our Voices

PUBLISHED 9/18/2025 by

Being on the receiving end of yet another violent and targeted email from a stranger hit a little differently this week, as the nation grapples with the murder of Charlie Kirk and its fallout.

Mostly what I’m feeling since receiving an email from Robert G. Smith—who signs off as “Bonecrusher Bob”—is a deep sense of obligation to the girls and women in my life. In his message, he attacked me with grotesque language, mocking my intelligence, my sexuality and my writing on menopause, telling me to “stick to brainwashing the little insurrectionist bastards who attend [my] shithouse skool.”

Much of my work is about developing leaders—running a law school center and fellowship program, mentoring high school and college students to become public writers, and helping grassroots leaders use the op-ed as a tool for advocacy. My own writing shines a light on women’s health issues that have long been ignored, like menopause, highlighting not just problems but solutions lawmakers can get behind.

The Bonecrusher Bobs of the world will not deter me, and I see the same resilience in those around me.

Just this past weekend, a teenager I mentor asked how to handle an op-ed she’d drafted about aggressive masculinity at her school; my answer was simple: We keep raising our voices with conviction, exposing lies, and showing up fully as ourselves. And when necessary, yes, we share screenshots.

Sleep Is a Feminist Issue: Why Women’s Rest Is Political

PUBLISHED 8/1/2025 by

Despite being among the top reasons women seek medical care, sleep disruptions during menopause have been understudied and undertreated. For women, sleep problems peak during the menopausal years, which span from their 40s to early 60s. Even more alarming, suicide rates also rise during these years. And the research shows that even amid immense hardship, the ability to sleep well buffers against suicidal thoughts. Yet, this crisis remains largely ignored.

Federal research, which now faces catastrophic budget cuts, has long neglected women’s sleep and menopause. And of course, in America, midlife women are holding the social safety net together, picking up the pieces of a broken welfare system.

Sleep is not a luxury. It is a nightly ritual restoring the brain through cellular growth and repair. To understand how we got here, we must examine the long history of how women’s sleep—or lack thereof—has been weaponized against us.

Menopause Finally Gets a Seat at the Table

PUBLISHED 7/18/2025 by

On Thursday, July 17, the FDA held a two-hour briefing featuring political leadership and a panel of doctors to focus on menopausal hormone treatments. Among the issues addressed was a decades-old labeling requirement for estrogen products—a.k.a. the “black box warning.”

FDA commissioner Martin Makary appears willing to consider scrapping it on packaging for localized vaginal estrogen treatment. The FDA should do so: The label is inaccurate and utterly alarming.

In the case of menopause, a rare combination of bipartisan commitment and robust public attention reflect not just heightened interest among constituents, but also proof of the democratic process actually working.

Women’s Health Needs Are Ever-Changing. It’s Time for Flexible Benefits That Meet Us Where We Are.

PUBLISHED 7/15/2025 by

With traditional group insurance, employees typically have just a few plans to choose from, none of which are a guaranteed fit. As a result, many women are forced onto a plan that fails to meet their medical needs, leaving them with high costs but still missing the support that matters most.

By switching group insurance to an Individual coverage health reimbursement arrangement (ICHRA), companies can provide the flexible and affordable benefits that meet women where they are. 

One-size-fits-all group insurance, selected by employers, no longer makes sense for female employees with unique and ever-evolving health needs. As employers across sectors embrace this new, flexible approach, more women stand to benefit from customizable coverage.

Keeping Score: Diddy’s Incomplete Conviction ‘Failed to Protect Survivors’; Inhumane Conditions in Alligator Alcatraz; What’s in the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’?

PUBLISHED 7/14/2025 by

In every issue of Ms., we track research on our progress in the fight for equality, catalogue can’t-miss quotes from feminist voices and keep tabs on the feminist movement’s many milestones. We’re Keeping Score online, too—in this biweekly roundup.

This week:
—Trump’s reconciliation bill will prevent millions from accessing healthcare and food assistance.
—IWMF announced this year’s Courage in Journalism Awards.
—Many prison systems lack accommodations for pregnant inmates.
—Sean “Diddy” Combs found not guilty of sex trafficking.
—The Supreme Court’s decision on LGBTQ books in public schools lays the foundation for new assault on books of all kinds in schools.
—Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-Fla.) called out the hypocrisy of “pro-choice” members of Congress in a House Rules committee meeting: “They say they’re pro-life because they want the baby to be born, go to school and get shot in the school.”
—A group of actors including Jane Fonda and Rosario Dawson wrote a letter to Amazon, after allegations that the company has frequently refused to accommodate pregnant workers. 
—Mahmoud Khalil is suing the Trump administration for $20 million.
—July 10 was Black Women’s Equal Pay Day, marking when Black women’s earnings catch up to what white men earned in 2024.

… and more.

America’s Healthcare Crisis Is Coming for All Women

PUBLISHED 7/11/2025 by and | UPDATED 8/21/2025 at 9:09 A.M. PT

Less access to healthcare—either by cutting Medicaid benefits or discouraging doctors from practicing in restrictive states—will affect antiabortion and pro-abortion women equally.

This is about far more than abortion. There will be more maternal deaths. There will be more deaths from cervical and breast cancer. More women will die from complications of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. There will be more suffering from infertility, endometriosis and fibroids.

Does anyone in power care? We certainly do. And we better make sure our voices are heard. All of our lives depend on it.