How Experts Are Reacting to Trump’s Women’s Health Executive Order

Last week, the Trump administration unveiled a new executive order targeting women’s health, eliciting diverse reactions from experts in the field.

The order creates a Women’s Health Division at the National Institutes of Health, aimed at expanding research, accelerating medical advancements, and enhancing overall health outcomes for women. This division will address a broad spectrum of health issues, spanning cardiovascular disease, cancer, autoimmune conditions, chronic pain, endometriosis, fibroids, polyendocrine metabolic ovary syndrome (PMOS), infertility, maternal health, menopause, Alzheimer’s disease, and osteoporosis.

In addition, the executive order establishes a White House Women’s Health Task Force, co-chaired by HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. and White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles. The task force is tasked with coordinating federal initiatives to improve women’s health across the lifespan, from infancy through adolescence, reproductive years, midlife, menopause, and healthy aging.

One healthcare professional expressed skepticism toward the executive order, highlighting that its timing coincides with the midterm election cycle.

Nada Hanafi, founder and manager of MedTech Strategy Advisors and co‑founder of Women’s Health Advocates, called the order a “political ploy” that attempts to sway voters amid the midterm election cycle, emphasizing the commercial appeal of women’s health to various professional sectors.

She pointed out that under the current administration, numerous public health initiatives have been dismantled, creating a series of harms that disproportionately affect vulnerable individuals, particularly women. The repeal of Roe v. Wade, a landmark protection for reproductive rights, remains a notable example of such backlash.

Despite these criticisms, Hanafi acknowledged a potential positive: the order identifies a wide range of health conditions affecting women, such as cancer, mental health challenges, and endometriosis.

The National Women’s Law Center echoed these concerns, arguing that the executive order arrives amid policies that restrict access to essential healthcare, such as amendments to the One Big Beautiful Bill Act that cut Medicaid funding, the defunding of Planned Parenthood, and the gutting of federal Minority Health Offices.

Dorianne Mason, senior director of health equity and contraceptive access at the National Women’s Law Center, stated that this executive order is a stark contrast to administrative actions that have curtailed women’s health services. She warned that the policy reflects an intentional disregard for women’s health needs, insisting that the order merely attempts to rewrite the headlines rather than translate to real improvements in care.

Conversely, another expert expressed a more favorable perspective.

Liz Powell, founder and president of G2G Consulting and a leader in women’s health advocacy, welcomed the order’s emphasis on a comprehensive, whole‑life approach to women’s health. She emphasized the importance of verifying effective implementation and progress.

Powell also commended the involvement of multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of War, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), the Department of Education, and the Department of Labor.

What experts want out of the executive order

Powell outlined key priorities: increased research funding within the women’s health domain, streamlined FDA approval processes, and enhanced reimbursement mechanisms for women’s health services.

Hanafi also suggested that the White House would do well to build upon the Biden administration’s previous initiatives in women’s health research, which were subsequently rescinded.

Hanafi urged greater bipartisan collaboration, emphasizing the need to build on existing efforts rather than reinventing them, and to create an equitable framework that serves all communities.

Hanafi called for a clearly defined budget to support the executive order, referencing the Biden administration’s prior allocation of over $100 million through ARPA‑H for women’s health research and a request for an additional $12 billion from Congress.

Powell underscored the significance of building upon previous administrations’ work.

Powell stressed the desire for continued improvement in science and outcomes, expressing hope that the new order would promote accuracy and precision in healthcare delivery regardless of political affiliation, noting that better‑informed medical research benefits all patient populations.

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