Women's Health Under Attack: Analyzing the Repeal of the Affordable Care Act

There's something rotten in the state of women's health. As this article is being written in July, Republicans in Congress are' attacking' in a frenzied effort to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act(ACA) put in place by the Obama administration. At least 22 million Americans would lose medical insurance by 2026 under the latest' version' of this plan—which includes large cuts to Medicaid-and lack of insurance means more sickness and death for thousands, data show. These cuts' threaten' to affect women more than men-whether by removing basic health coverage, cutting maternity care or' sharply' limiting reproductive rights. It's time to take a stand against this war on women's health. Current events are just the latest' attack' in a long history of male-centric medicine, often driven not by politicians but by scientists and physicians. Before the National Institutes of Health Revitalization Act of 1993, which' required' the inclusion of women and minorities in final-stage medication and therapy trials, women were actively' excluded' from such tests because scientists worried that female hormonal cycles would interfere with the results. The' omission', meant women did not know how drugs would affect them. Whether or not the repeal-and-replace legislation passes this year, these' attacks' are part of a larger war on women's health that is not likely to abate anytime soon. We must resist this assault. Never mind'America First'-it's' critical' to put women first.