Activism

SMCR is an organization dedicated to the fusion of consciousness-raising,activism, scholarship, and feminist politics. In this regard, working to lessen gender inequalities, and specifically working to place menstruation and issues related to women’s reproductive health in the spotlight (nationally and internationally) constitutes some of our central goals as an organization. We welcome activist work from within and outside of academia, from students, faculty, and community members alike. SMCR has worked on a diverse range of issues in the past, including a congressional bill that addresses the potentially dangerous side effects of using tampons, position statements regarding issues such as continuous oral contraceptive use, Menstrual Hygiene Day, student activism to lessen shame and secrecy surrounding menstruation, working to revise the language of “Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder,” and better recognition of women’s reproductive health and its links to social justice in the U.S. and globally.

Activist Engagements

February, 2013: Selling Sickness: People before Profits in Washington, DC

Seven members of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research presented a symposium titled The Medicalization of the Menstrual Cycle. Panelists addressed the menstrual cycle throughout the life cycle, from menarche to menopause, as well as menstrual activism and media representations of menstruation.

October, 2009: Testimony to Office of Research on Women’s Health at NIH, Chicago

Medical research on sex hormones must be seen in terms of women’s health, rather than disease. Menopause is not a disease of estrogen deficiency but a normal phase of an adult woman’s life, nor is menstruation a disease requiring medication or other treatment.

Position Statements

June, 2015: SMCR Objects to FDA Approval of Flibanserin

The Society for Menstrual Cycle Research regrets the recommendation by the Bone, Reproductive, and Urologic Advisory Committee and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee on June 4, 2015 that flibanserin be approved with risk management options.

April, 2012: Naming Women’s Midlife Reproductive Transition

In the interest of reducing confusion and improving midlife women’s quality of life, as well as access, if desired or needed, to appropriate health care, and promoting the use of clearer terminology, we recommend specific and precise use of the terms of perimenopause and menopause.

October, 2009: Testimony to Office of Research on Women’s Health at NIH, Chicago

October, 2007: Women’s Health Initiative & Estrogen Therapy

In Spring, 2007, the Board of Directors of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research decided to update the Society’s 2003 position statement, “Women’s Health Initiative & HRT.” The basic conclusions of the Society’s 2003 position statement remain: WHI provided strong evidence that hormone therapies are not safe and effective for prevention of chronic illness, and that menopause is not an estrogen deficiency disease. However, this updated statement adds a critique of an increasingly heard criticism, the “timing hypothesis,” which asserts that the WHI research results are limited to older postmenopausal women and that younger women would derive positive benefits from hormone use. This hypothesis has little experimental confirmation and should not be the basis for professional decision-making.

June, 2007 (SMCR Meeting, Vancouver): Menstrual Suppression

At the 2007 meetings of the Society for Menstrual Cycle Research, members discussed current consumer and medical interest in extended hormonal contraceptives to reduce or eliminate menstruation (cycle-stopping contraception). A number of research papers on this topic were presented. It is the position of the Society that menstruation is not a disease, and that further research on the potential health risks and long-term safety of cycle-stopping contraception is still needed.

June, 2003 (SMCR Meeting, Pittsburgh): Menstrual Suppression

Based on research presented at the 2003 meeting, the Society issued a statement recognizing that menstrual suppression may be a useful option for women with severe menstrual cycle problems such as endometriosis, but recommending that continuous oral contraceptive use should NOT be prescribed to all menstruating women out of a rejection of a normal, healthy menstrual cycle. The statement recommended more research is needed before women can make informed decisions.

October, 2002 (Revised June, 2003): Women’s Health Initiative Estrogen Plus Progestin Arm

SMCR issued an official position statement affirming that the WHI Estrogen plus Progestin trial has produced Level 1 evidence that was previously unavailable. These data strongly support SMCR’s position that menopause is a normal phase of all women’s lives and not an estrogen deficiency state that requires hormone “replacement” to prevent serious chronic diseases. Furthermore, integration of previous epidemiological data on menopausal women’s risks for cardiovascular disease with the new WHI data suggests that 59-79% of women’s risks for heart attack and stroke can be eliminated by positive lifestyles and socioeconomic biases in the observational studies. The Society also stated that more research is needed prospectively documenting women’s health and experiences through the menopause transition (perimenopause) in multicultural populations and more research is also needed into the etiology and management of hot flashes/night sweats and other changes that are distressing for some women during the menopause transition and following menopause.

June, 2001: Women’s Health Initiative & Hormone Replacement Therapy

The Society adopted a resolution urging that menopausal treatment with estrogen and progestin or progesterone be called “Ovarian Hormone Therapy” (OHT) instead of “Hormone Replacement Therapy” (HRT).

June, 2001: Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) and Sarafem

SMCR called upon the FDA to to reconsider its approval of Sarafem for the treatment of “Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder”.