Halle Berry is not staying silent when it comes to women’s health. The Oscar-winning actress called out California Gov. Gavin Newsom for vetoing a menopause care bill two years in a row. During the New York Times DealBook Summit, Berry expressed her frustration.
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Back in my great state of California, my very own governor, Gavin Newsom, has vetoed our menopause bill, not one but two years in a row,” she said. But that’s OK, because he’s not going to be governor forever.
Berry added, “And with the way he’s overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us in midlife, he probably should not be our next president either.”
The Menopause Care Equity Act, passed by bipartisan lawmakers in 2024 and again in 2025, would have ensured health insurance plans covered treatment for menopause and perimenopause symptoms. It also would have created a menopause-specific curriculum for physicians and incentivized continued education in the field.
Newsom vetoed the bill both times, most recently in October. Berry, joined by Illinois Lt. Gov. Juliana Stratton and menopause researcher Dr. Pauline Maki, wrote a Time op-ed blasting the veto as a “failure of California leadership.”
“It is enraging that women in California have to continue to wait for adequate and informed healthcare, when we were on the precipice of progress,” they wrote.
Berry has long advocated for women’s health and founded Respin in 2020, an organization focused on menopause awareness and care access.
