[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 156 (Thursday, December 2, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2051]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 INTRODUCTION OF RESOLUTION HONORING THE OFFICE OF RESEARCH ON WOMEN'S 
                                 HEALTH

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. LOUISE McINTOSH SLAUGHTER

                              of new york

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, December 2, 2010

  Ms. SLAUGHTER. Madam Speaker, I rise today to honor the 20th 
anniversary of the Office of Research on Women's Health. As the leading 
agency for women's health research in the United States, the Office has 
transformed biomedical research and improved the lives of women 
nationally and internationally.
  The Office of Research on Women's Health was founded in response to 
congressional and scientific concerns over the systematic exclusion of 
women from clinical research trials funded by the National Institutes 
of Health (NIH). One clinical trial, the Physicians' Health Study, 
included 22,071 men--and no women. This clinical trial generated over 
300 basic findings that are used today to guide all facets of medicine. 
Indeed, the common advice to take aspirin to prevent heart attacks is 
based largely on this clinical trial with no female participants. By 
excluding women from clinical trials, biomedical research failed women.
  Scientists and government officials alike recognized the troubling 
implications of providing medical care based on research that excluded 
more than half of the world's population. The Society for Women's 
Health Research was founded to galvanize support and improve scientific 
research.
  My colleagues and I in the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues 
challenged the exclusion of women from federally funded research.
  In 1990 we introduced H.R. 5397, an omnibus Women's Health Equity 
Act, an unprecedented package of 22 separate bills designed to improve 
the status of women's health in the areas of research, services, and 
prevention. Among the provisions of this mammoth legislation were: the 
establishment and permanent authorization of the Office of Research on 
Women's Health; the statutory requirement that women and minorities 
must be included in NIH clinical studies, where appropriate; the 
establishment of research centers on osteoporosis, contraception, and 
infertility; and necessary funding increases for research into the 
diseases that claim unacceptable numbers of female lives, like breast, 
ovarian, and cervical cancers.
  Our interest prompted federal action. The National Institutes of 
Health announced the creation of the Office of Research on Women's 
Health in 1990.
  Many of the provisions of the Women's Health Equity Act were included 
in the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993. 
Thankfully, President Clinton made the NIH bill, and especially its 
critical improvements of women's health research, one of his first 
legislative priorities. It was signed into law on June 10, 1993, in a 
White House ceremony befitting such historic legislation--establishing 
the Office of Research on Women's Health in statute.
  Since its creation 20 years ago, the Office of Research on Women's 
Health has increased our understanding of sex differences, from single 
cells to biological systems. This new focus on sex differences has 
transformed epigenetics, endocrinology, immunology, and many other 
fields.
  In 1999, the Office initiated the ``Building Interdisciplinary 
Research Careers in Women's Health initiative'' which supported the 
career development of approximately 400 early-stage research 
scientists. By helping these scientists to become independent 
researchers and obtain academic positions, the Office of Research on 
Women's Health built a sophisticated, active field of women's health 
research.
  In 2002, the Office established the ``Specialized Centers of Research 
on Sex and Gender Factors Affecting Women's Health'' program to support 
interdisciplinary research in basic and clinical research. In 2009 
alone, this program helped scientists to publish 116 journal articles, 
176 abstracts, and 63 other publications.
  Alongside of the ambitious research agenda of the Office of Research 
on Women's Health, the Office also educates physicians, providers, and 
patients about gender-based differences in health care. This education 
program helps to translate the research accomplishments into tangible 
improvements in care for women and girls nationwide.
  The Office of Research on Women's Health continues to press for 
improvements for women's health care.
  This fall, the Office launched its ``Vision for 2020 in Women's 
Health Research'', a far-sighted research strategy for the next 10 
years. Their vision--which I share--calls upon our Nation to increase 
its commitment to evaluate sex differences in both basic science and 
clinical research.
  We also must ensure that sex differences are acknowledged in the 
design and application of new technologies and medications. 
Furthermore, we need to build a talented, diverse, and active women's 
health research workforce.
  We cannot abandon our commitment to women's health research.
  Indeed, recent withdrawals of medications by the Food and Drug 
Administration remind us of the importance of evaluating medicines by 
sex. In 2001, the then U.S. General Accounting Office published an 
evaluation showing that eight of the ten medications recently withdrawn 
``posed greater health risks for women than for men''.
  The importance of the mission and accomplishments of the Office of 
Research on Women's Health cannot be overstated. Women and girls 
deserve health care that has been tailored to their needs, and that 
requires high-quality research sensitive to gender-based differences.
  I thank the Office of Research on Women's Health for their 
achievements over the past 20 years. I know that the Office will use 
the next 20 years to support excellent science that will benefit women 
and men alike.

                          ____________________