[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 59 (Monday, May 9, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4643-S4644]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



  (At the request of Mr. Reid, the following statement was ordered to 
be printed in the Record.)

         CELEBRATION OF SEX DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH AWARENESS DAY

 Mr. HARKIN. Mr. President, May 8 to 14 is National Women's 
Health Week and a time that we should take a careful look at the state 
of women's health in this country and in particular look at the lack of 
equality that still exist

[[Page S4644]]

for women in access to health care. I have long been concerned about 
the status of women's health care policies in the United States. That 
is why I have supported several bills and policy changes to improve 
women's health status.
  For too long, the Federal Government failed to recognize the health 
differences between men and women. For example, for many years clinical 
trials run by the Food and Drug Administration, FDA, often excluded 
women. As a result, safety and efficacy standards failed to take into 
account the physiological differences between men and women. That is 
why I have worked with the FDA to increase the number of women included 
in these important clinical trials.
  One way to ensure that we continue to make steady improvements on 
women's health issues is to ensure that our public health agencies work 
in a coordinated manner to consider the public health impact on women 
of a range of health issues. We can accomplish this goal by passing the 
Women's Health Offices Act, which statutorily establishes Offices of 
Women's Health at all of our public health agencies.
  While we have made progress we need to continue efforts to focus on 
the fact that women's health research is key to the future of improving 
and saving more lives. As a result of such research, death rates have 
decreased for women with tumors of the cervix, breast, uterus, and 
ovary. Quality of life has also improved for cancer patients through 
the development of less invasive surgical techniques, organ-sparing 
treatments, and better control of pain and nausea related to 
chemotherapy.
  Women's health is an issue I take very seriously. My two sisters both 
had breast cancer and died of the disease, in a time before regular 
mammograms and improved treatment methods were widely used or 
available.
  I believe that we must work together in a bipartisan manner to 
refashion our health care system so that all Americans, especially 
women, have access to the high quality care they deserve at an 
affordable price.

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