U.S. Senator Angela Alsobrooks (D-Md.) convened a landmark roundtable on women’s health research at the Capitol, bringing together lawmakers, advocates, and cultural leaders to spotlight uterine fibroids — a condition that affects millions of women but remains underfunded in federal research.
The “Women’s Health Research Congressional Roundtable” featured actresses Lupita Nyong’o and Mandy Moore alongside Representatives Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.), Robin Kelly (D-Ill.), and Shontel Brown (D-Ohio), among others. For nearly ninety minutes, participants discussed ways to close long-standing gaps in women’s health research and advance legislation to address fibroids, which disproportionately impact women of color.
Central to the discussion was the Uterine Fibroid Intervention and Gynecological Health Treatment (U-FIGHT) Act, co-authored by Alsobrooks and Senator Cynthia Lummis (R-Wyo.). The bipartisan bill would expand access to early screening and treatment for uterine fibroids and related conditions, such as Asherman’s syndrome, while also promoting equity in pain management and medical research.
“For far too long, women and girls have suffered from fibroids and we have accepted it as normal,” Alsobrooks told The AFRO. “Eighty percent of women will experience fibroids in their lifetime, yet only 0.03 percent of research dollars go toward studying them. Women make up 51 percent of the population, but just 8 percent of NIH research funding goes to women’s health.”
Rep. Brown, who introduced the House version of the U-FIGHT Act in July, emphasized the financial and social toll of inaction. “We’re spending billions on surgeries and recovery when we could invest those dollars in prevention and research,” she said, praising the involvement of high-profile figures like Nyong’o and Moore for helping to “normalize” the conversation.
Rep. Pressley, who has spoken publicly about her own experience with fibroids, shared a deeply personal account of managing the condition while in public office. “The suffering and shame we carry for fibroids, menopause, or autoimmune diseases must end,” she said. “It is possible to legislate healing and justice — and that is why we are here.”
Alsobrooks closed by reaffirming her commitment to passing the U-FIGHT Act. “I hope we can start by ending the silence — and the suffering,” she said.
