Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I rise today to commemorate one of the greatest recent achievements in women's health--the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Office of Research on Women's Health at the National Institutes of Health. I could not be prouder of all that the Office of Research on Women's Health has done for women's health, and I am honored to be a part of its history. As an advocate of women's health, a supporter of scientific research, and a woman myself, this is an emotional day for me. Twenty years ago, women did not have much to celebrate when it came to scientific advances. In fact, we were not even at the table. Remember that famous study that said, ``an aspirin a day keeps the doctor away''? That study included 10,000 men but not a single woman. The same went for the famous study on heart disease factors: 13,000 men were surveyed but not a single woman. We had a big problem. Women were being systematically excluded from NIH clinical research. It was not sound science, and it was not acceptable. Our worst concerns were confirmed by a 1990 GAO report, which proved that women were not being included in clinical trials. I had to do something about it. I remember it well: I called up my women colleagues, and they agreed. We piled into the car on a hot August day, and we drove to NIH in Bethesda, MD. Our aim was to assemble all 12 institutes, communicate our concerns, and see what goals they could come up with to resolve this unfair exclusion.…”