By Alex Busansky and Aishatu YusufGuest contributors\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Sept. 21, 2026 3:02 AM PT <\/p>\n
Last week, the Senate Special Committee on Aging made history<\/a> with the first congressional hearing on menopause. It was long overdue \u2014 and marked the latest development in a growing menopause movement reshaping access<\/a> to treatment for women across the country.<\/p>\n This moment is ripe with potential \u2014 and in many ways, California is at the forefront<\/a> of that progress. But even now, the public and policymakers are not talking about menopause for all women. One major group has been left out of the conversation entirely. That group is women aging in prison.<\/p>\n Amid debates about expanded access, new funding and ever-increasing awareness, incarcerated women have remained invisible. The recent hearing \u2014 and almost all menopause media coverage \u2014 has excluded incarcerated women, though roughly 40% of the 200,000 incarcerated women in this country are within the age range for perimenopause and menopause, a percentage that is growing rapidly<\/a> each year.<\/p>\n Across the country, these women are aging into menopause with little to no consistent care, in a system that is fundamentally unequipped to recognize or respond to their medical needs. This is a glaring gap in menopause care.<\/p>\n Incarcerated women already face a long list of environmental hazards \u2014 extreme heat, unhealthy food and limited opportunities to exercise, to name a few \u2014 that significantly complicate and exacerbate menopause and its associated symptoms. Many incarcerated women, like most Americans, have little or no understanding of perimenopause and menopause, including how symptoms may affect them and what treatments may be available. Too many people do not know that the symptoms, if left untreated, may lead to increased risk of osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and other chronic illnesses. Those incarcerated women who do pursue medical care often encounter staff who do not believe them and are ill-equipped to support them, setting the stage for significant and costly long-term health effects.<\/p>\n Social progress is often too slow, or at worst, nonexistent, for people at the margins. Menopause is the latest in a long list of previously ignored \u201cwomen\u2019s issues\u201d that have seen movement only after sustained pressure. But even as menopause picks up mainstream cultural traction, the menopausal experiences of incarcerated women remain excluded from the public conversation.<\/p>\n