National Women's Health Network

The National Women's Health Network (NWHN) is a non-profit women's health advocacy organization located in Washington, D.C.. It was founded in 1975 by Barbara Seaman, Alice Wolfson, Belita Cowan, Mary Howell, M.D., and Phyllis Chesler, Ph.D. The stated mission of the organization is to give women a greater voice within the healthcare system. NWHN is financially supported by 10,000 members, and does not accept contributions from the tobacco and medical industries. The NWHN researches and lobbies federal agencies on such issues as AIDS, reproductive rights, breast cancer, older women's health, and new contraceptive technologies. The Women's Health Voice, the NWHN's health information program, provides independent research on a variety of women's health topics. Access to their services, as well as various fact sheets, position papers, outside resources, and their newsletters can be found on their official site.

The NWHN was founded in 1975 by Barbara Seaman, Alice Wolfson, Belita Cowan, Mary Howell, M.D., and Phyllis Chesler, Ph.D. as a lobby group for women's health advocacy. It quickly expanded to become a clearinghouse for women's health information as well, and continues to provide women with objective health information from a feminist viewpoint.

In its first year, the NWHN organized the first ever protest against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). In 1975, organizers opposed to the FDA approval and lack of oversight of synthetic estrogens such as DES and high-dose estrogens in combined oral contraceptive pills carried signs reading "Feed Estrogen to the Rats at the FDA" and "Women's Health, Not Drug Company Wealth". After the protests and the Nelson Pill Hearings, Patient Packaging Inserts (PPIs) listing side effects were instated for oral contraceptives—the first PPIs in U.S. history.

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