On Tuesday, March 19, patients with bleeding disorders joined Representative Josh Gottheimer (NJ-05) in Livingston, NJ, as the Congressman announced new legislation: The SEARCH (Securing Equal Access to Research Care & Health) Act.

Women are often left out or underrepresented in clinical trials. This bill will help increase the number of women in clinical research trials to find treatments and cures for diseases–including bleeding disorders. After providing an overview of this new bill, the Congressman invited Stephanie Lapidow, Executive Director of the Hemophilia Association of New Jersey (HANJ), to take the podium to explain how this will benefit women in the bleeding disorders community.