First lady Jill Biden emphasized the importance of women’s wellness on Dec. 11 at the inaugural White House Women’s Health Conference, where she lauded large investments from federal agencies working to reshape the course of research and data collection in health care and address disparities often facing African American communities.

“Today, we are saying to women everywhere: ‘We hear you, and we will get you the answers you need,’” she said.

The daylong event featured a series of panels stacked with health care experts and advocates who spoke to groundbreaking discoveries in diseases impacting women in addition to the growing avenues for continued research. 

“The United States has the best health research in the world, yet women’s health is understudied and research is underfunded,” the first lady continued, crediting President Joe Biden for launching the first White House Initiative on Women’s Health.

Despite the majority-conservative Supreme Court’s overturning of Roe v. Wade, ending the right to legal abortions federally, women’s wellness, overall, has been a huge factor in solidifying the legacy of the Biden administration, which has fought for reproductive rights and sought to find avenues for government-funded research amid statistics showing the U.S. has the highest maternal mortality rate among developed countries. 

Further, Black women are twice as likely to struggle with the maternal health crisis, including symptoms from hormonal imbalance caused by menopause and genetic birth defects like sickle cell.  

Throughout the past year, the first lady has traveled across the country to collect knowledge of the lived experiences that Black women including Halle Berry and others have overcome in search of viable solutions. 

Those conversations set the foundation for hundreds of millions in investments. 

In January, the Department of Health and Human Services declared sickle cell disease as the first focus of the research trial Cell and Gene Therapy (CGT) Access Model, which will test gene therapy options with the goal of expanding access to treatment for individuals on state Medicaid programs.

In late September, the Department of Defense committed $500 million to address health disparities faced by women, including conditions that affect women uniquely, disproportionately, or differently.

During the conference the first lady and president reflected on the unprecedented achievements and advancements made toward women’s health and told the nation to brace for more progress in government-funded research. 

“The White House, all of us here, we will keep fighting for you until your worries turn into answers, your symptoms into solutions.  Until women everywhere benefit from the lifesaving and world-changing research that we know is possible,” the first lady said. “A new future can ring out from this conference, one that — one that answers the call from women who have been waiting for too long.  Let this be the moment that we push harder, the moment that people say changed the world of women’s health forever.”

President Biden echoed his call for Congress to invest $12 billion in women’s health research in his speech at the conference while outlining broad securities evoked under his leadership ahead of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration.

“In addition to launching the Women’s Health Research Initiative earlier this year, I signed an executive order directing the most comprehensive set of executive actions ever taken in the history of this country to improve women’s health issues,” the president declared. 

He emphasized the benefits of the executive order in protecting and progressing women’s health rights and care.

“It ensures that women’s health is integrated and prioritized all across the entire federal government, all research projects and budget plans, across the entire government,” President Biden said. “And it spurs new research and innovation on a wide range of women’s health needs throughout their lives.”

Amid calls for abortion bans and reproductive right restrictions, citizens across the nation have expressed fear of losing more fundamental rights that promote women’s bodily autonomy, and gender-affirming care. However, Biden affirmed his work as president would protect the longstanding progress and work toward uplifting women’s health.

“This initiative lays the groundwork for discoveries and research for generations to come.  Mark my words,” he said. “And the benefits we gain tomorrow will happen because we made the decision to do something about them today — now.”