Halle Berry and Gavin Newsom They sparked a fierce public outcry against the bill, which sought to expand coverage and medical care for perimenopausal and menopausal women in California.
The actress sharply questioned the governor for vetoing the call for the second year in a row Menopause Care Equality Actwhile Newsom defended his decision and asserted that Berry had no knowledge of important information. The statements came amid speculation about a possible Democratic presidential campaign.
Berry spoke at the DealBook Summit New York Timeswhere he expressed his opposition to the veto and criticized the governor’s lack of support to a project that aims to improve access to treatments and specialized care for millions of women.
“With the way he overlooked women, half the population, by devaluing us in middle age, probably shouldn’t be the next president“said the actress loudly diversity.
Berry noted that Newsom did not support legislation that would have required health insurers to fully cover medically necessary menopause and perimenopause treatments. “If men had a disease that affected their sleep, their brain function and their sex lives, we would call it a health crisis comparable to Covid and the whole world would come to a standstill,” he added.
“When women struggle in silence to keep their families, careers, relationships and communities together during perimenopause and menopause, it affects not just women but every household,” she said at the New York conference.
And he explained: “It impacts the workplace, it impacts the economy. One in six women leaves work due to menopausal symptoms. It affects us all“.
At the end of her talk, the actress emphasized the need for a collective effort, declaring, “I need all the women in this country to fight with me,” Berry said. And he developed: “But we also need men. All the leaders, every single one of you in this room; this fight needs you. We need you to stay curious. We need you to ask questions. We need your care, even when the topic is unfamiliar and uncomfortable for you.”
After the criticism, the governor of California responded first through his spokesman and then directly to a journalist TMZ at Newark Airport. “We agree on it. I put it in next year’s budget. She didn’t know.”“Newsom said as reported The hill.
A spokesman for the governor said Newsom “deeply admires” Berry’s activism and looks forward to working with her to expand access to menopausal care.
She explained that she vetoed the bill because, as written, it would have “unintentionally increased health care costs for millions of working women and families who are already under strain.” He added that the goal is to arrive at a plan that expands essential treatments without increasing insurance premiums, media reports.
Newsom rejected a similar version of the bill last year, saying it would restrict practices that the governor’s office says are intended to ensure adequate care and control costs. Bipartisan lawmakers approved the initiative in both 2024 and 2025, but the governor vetoed it again in October.
Berry, founder of the organization Respin, dedicated to promoting greater research and awareness about menopause, insisted that premium costs had not increased significantly. For the actress, the debate requires a change in political priorities in favor of women’s health.
As the exchange continues, the issue has cemented itself on the national agenda and become an unexpected axis around the figure of Newsom, who is exploring an eventual presidential run.
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