While it’s a win to see this pushed forward, it really sets a tone of how little attention is given towards women’s healthcare that it requires an Executive Order to make it a priority. It’s 2024 and yet I have seen online forums sharing advice on how not to be dismissed by doctors for years because of how prevalent of an issue it is. That it’s far easier for a doctor to label something as anxiety or normal because there isn’t enough information for it and they can’t be bothered to look beyond what isn’t understood. Women have been dying for years because of this lack of care and investigation; it’s why cervical cancer is a silent killer. If you’re a minority, this is even worse.
I really hope this research encourages a new generation of doctors to be more familiar with women’s health issues and to be less dismissive of us when we reach out for medical help. I’m tired of the mental weight of hoping I’m listened to by a doctor and having to treat a doctors visit as a dissertation just to be taken seriously.
Additionally, it’s really disturbing how many gynos are convinced the cervix can’t feel pain and the very biopsies intended to save our lives are done without anesthetic too often than not. Seriously, what the hell? Is this some outdated medical knowledge steeped in punishing the original sin of Eve? Maybe if these docs took a bite of that apple too, we wouldn’t be here.