Until 1993, women were mostly excluded from federally funded clinical trials in the United States. Not overlooked. Not underfunded. Excluded.

Through the relentless advocacy of women and their allies, on June 10, 1993, the U.S. government passed the NIH Revitalization Act, a law - not a suggestion - that women and minorities be included in federally funded research and clinical trials.

On #EqualResearchDay — created by the co-founders of Evvy to mark that turning point — It's Not a Purse is releasing a preview of Episode One of the upcoming documentary series A Study on Trial: The Women’s Health Initiative Revisited, which takes an unflinching look at the promise of the WHI, the harmful turn it took in 2002 and how the medical community is restoring trust.

In this preview, narrator, creator, and executive producer Ami Armstrong is joined by the researchers, doctors, authors, and advocates who have spent their careers doing the work to close the women’s health gap:

Laine Bruzek: co-founder of Evvy and co-creator of #EqualResearchDay, https://www.Evvy.com

Kathryn Schubert: President & CEO, Society for Women's Health Research, https://www.SWHR.com

Dr. Sharonne Hayes: Cardiologist and women's health researcher, Mayo Clinic, https://www.womenheart.org/dr-sharonne-hayes/

Maya Dusenbery: Author, Doing Harm: The Truth About How Bad Medicine and Lazy Science Leave Women Dismissed, Misdiagnosed, and Sick, https://www.mayadusenbery.com/

Paula Bellostas Muguerza: Senior Partner and Global Healthcare & Life Sciences Practice Leader at Kearney, https://www.kearney.com/about/people/bio/paula-bellostas

It's Not a Purse is a new documentary program that takes a deep dive into events in modern history that have impacted the lives of women. Follow us on Instagram at: @ItsNotaPursePod

Season One is for people who know that "women's health" isn't a niche; it's half the population that medicine has overwhelmingly ignored.

A Study on Trial: The Women’s Health Initiative Revisited launches .

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It’s Not a Purse is an anthology documentary podcast series that takes a deep dive into events from modern history that have impacted the lives of women.

Season One, A Study on Trial: The Women’s Health Initiative Revisited, centers on the landmark study from the 1990s: the National Institute of Health (NIH) sponsored Women’s Health Initiative (WHI), the largest and most impactful women’s health research program in U.S. history.

Conceived and launched by acclaimed the first woman head of the NIH, cardiologist Dr. Bernadine Healy, the WHI aimed to improve the quality of life for women ages 50 to 79, a segment of the American population mostly left out of consideration.

Then came July 9th, 2002. Aspects of the WHI involving Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) were abruptly halted by a press conference. An imbalanced interpretation of the data and overstated risk of breast cancer resulted in millions of women flushing their medication, wrongly denying them critical protection for their heart health, bone health, and cognition.

After decades of fighting alarmist labeling, an expert panel of physicians and researchers finally won their appeal to the FDA to remove black box labels on some HRT in 2025. We speak with many of them, along with others who have shaped this WHI timeline.

Our goal is to use storytelling to shine a light on the systems that created and maintain the women’s health gap, and explore the massive social and economic potential of closing it. A Study on Trial helps us understand our history backwards so we can build a better future together.