Why Women Over 50 Care About Reproductive Health and Freedoms: A Response to Bernie Moreno

In a recent statement, Ohio Senate candidate Bernie Moreno suggested that women’s concerns about reproductive rights, particularly around abortion, are exaggerated. He implied that the issue mostly affects younger women, but as someone who is newly 50 and knows many women over 50, I can tell you—this couldn’t be further from the truth. It’s not just about what’s happening in the moment for us. It’s about what could happen next.

For women like me, in our 50s and beyond, reproductive health and freedoms are not just issues of youth or fertility. They are deeply tied to our autonomy, our personal histories, and the futures we want for the generations that follow us. For decades, we’ve navigated a political landscape that has questioned, regulated, and tried to control our bodies. And the recent wave of abortion restrictions hits a lot closer to home than Moreno or anyone else might realize.

Our Bodies, Our Choices—Still

Let me be clear: menopause doesn’t erase the need for reproductive freedom. Just because our childbearing years are behind us doesn’t mean we stop caring about the rights of women who can still conceive. We don’t just forget the years we spent fighting for birth control access, for the right to decide if and when we’d have children, and for the dignity of being able to control our own health care decisions.

Many of us have had personal experiences with reproductive health challenges. Whether it was an unplanned pregnancy, high-risk pregnancies, miscarriage, or the need for contraception, those experiences don’t disappear with age. They live on in our memories and inform our politics.

And then there’s the reality that many women over 50 are still navigating the complicated landscape of reproductive health, particularly with issues like fibroids, ovarian cysts, and cancer that require access to comprehensive medical care. Just because we stop menstruating doesn’t mean our risk for these issues disappear. Some of us might need hormone replacement therapy or other treatments that fall under the larger umbrella of reproductive health care in menopause. And yes, postmenopausal women can and do still face decisions about pregnancy through unexpected circumstances like late-in-life marriages, blended families, or health risks.

Our Daughters, Our Granddaughters

Beyond our own health, we’re thinking about the futures of our daughters, granddaughters, nieces, and the young women coming after us. We didn’t fight so hard for our rights only to see them stripped away for the next generation. We know that the battle for reproductive rights has always been about more than just abortion—it’s about equality, bodily autonomy, and the fundamental right to make decisions about our own lives.

It is deeply unsettling to watch the political landscape regress on these issues. Many women can remember a time before Roe v. Wade, and don’t want to go back there. The thought of young women today having fewer rights than women had in the 1970s and 1980s is frightening. Every woman deserves the right to make her own choices, without politicians interfering in the most personal aspects of her life.

What Men Like Moreno Don’t Understand

When Bernie Moreno dismisses reproductive health as an issue that doesn’t concern older women, he demonstrates a fundamental misunderstanding of how deeply these issues affect all of us—across generations. He’s relying on a narrow, reductive view of what women care about, as if our interest in reproductive rights evaporates with menopause. But the truth is, we’ve been here before. We know what’s at stake. And that’s exactly why we’re speaking out now.

Our lives aren’t just about us; they’re about the legacy we leave behind. If we don’t stand up now for the rights of younger women, who will? We fought for ourselves decades ago, and we will fight for them now.

So, when politicians like Moreno dismiss our concerns, it’s not just disrespectful—it’s dangerous. It shows how little he understands about women’s health, our values, and our determination. We’ve been fighting this fight for a long time, and we’re not about to stop just because we’ve hit a certain age.

A Warning for Politicians

Here’s a reminder to Bernie Moreno and anyone else who thinks reproductive rights are only a young woman’s issue: Women over 50 vote. And we vote in large numbers. We’re paying attention to what you say and how you treat our rights. We’re having conversations with our families, our communities, and our fellow voters. And we will hold you accountable.

Reproductive rights aren’t just about the ability to have a child; they’re about the ability to live freely, to choose our futures, and to ensure that the next generation has the opportunities our elders fought for. So, no, just because we are in menopause we’re done caring about abortion and reproductive freedoms—because, like us, those rights are still alive and kicking. Menopause doesn’t end our connection to reproductive health; it deepens it. We care because the fight for autonomy over our bodies is lifelong, and ensuring that all women—no matter their age—have control over their health is as important now as it ever was.