Menopause Management (Hour 3)

Transcript

Menopause Management (Hour 3)

Mornings with Pat Kreitlow · Wed Oct 22, 2025

Kathryn Lake

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Pat Kreitlow

Which you can find at upnorthnewswi.com and sign up for our morning newsletter there as well.

Good morning, it's 8.06.

Nice to have you back here up north on a Wednesday morning, October 22nd, 2025, Earl Ingram standing by.

talk about what he's doing for civic media and the what's going on podcast.

We'll talk to Melissa Baldoff with this week's climate check.

And Dr. Kristen Lierly will make a special Wednesday appearance after a virtual news conference yesterday with actress Halle Berry talking in favor of a bipartisan bill in the Wisconsin legislature on the subject of menopause.

So we'll talk a little women's health coming up at 835.

Now,

Dr. Lylee has run for office and come up short.

I've won an election and then lost two elections after that.

But at no point has it ever occurred to us that we might want to run again.

And then a New York Times article would show up with basically most people anonymously saying, don't run again.

And that's exactly what happened yesterday in the New York Times regarding Mandela Barnes, the former lieutenant governor who whose name is still out there as a potential candidate for governor next year.

Pretty much every other name that's been talked about, those folks have either gotten into the race or out of the race.

But the New York Times has an article that is chock full of folks who are hinting that they don't want to see the former lieutenant governor going up against potentially Congressman Tom Tiffany

because of how he fell short against Ron Johnson a couple of years back.

And like I said, by and large, folks were kind of saying it without saying it.

But there was one person who did say it, and that was former Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton, who served as Lieutenant Governor under Jim Doyle, and said of Mandela Barnes's 2022 race, quote,

He proved to us beyond a shadow of a doubt that he can't run hard enough and give us a winning campaign on a statewide basis.

That's from Barbara Lawton and then others saying that if he gets in do not expect what happened when he ran for US Senate where the other primary candidates Got out and deferred to him that there there will be a primary all the way through the finish line if he were to get in so again That's article in the New York Times about a potential candidate for governor in Wisconsin next year Let's bring in Earl Ingram now from the what's going on podcast with Earl Ingram head over to civicmedia.us to learn more about that

was most recently, the MC for the No Kings Rally in Milwaukee last weekend.

Earl, good morning.

How are you?

Earl Ingram

I'm doing fine, but that subject that you just talked about, I got a shy man on that.

Mandela Barnes is a longtime friend, a young man whose career I followed and had a connection with.

He called me this past Wednesday before this article came out.

and said to me his intentions on getting into this race.

He told me about an interviewer from the New York Times that was going to do this hatchet job on him and he asked for that interviewer from the New York Times to give me a call.

I was awaiting that call.

Supposedly, I was supposed to have gotten that call because I was going to say something completely different than what Ms.

Lawton and others have said in regards to this race.

Let's be clear.

Mandela Barnes to call him a loser, he lost by one percentage point to a sitting United States Senator.

What are people talking about?

to say that that's a failure is is unbelievably wrong and to mislead people with this article to say you know well he's not the guy he can't he can't win a statewide race those things are untrue and when you look at the people who are running Mandela Barnes national recognition that supreme i mean that united states senate race

was nipped and tucked till the end.

If there hadn't been things that were said horribly in the black community by a black talk show host on a different radio station condemning Mandela Barnes, enough blacks would have came out voted for him.

We will be talking about a guy who's a United States senator.

So I am outraged that Barbara Lawton

and others who are making these assertions that he can't win, absolutely incorrect.

He has a statewide recognition.

He's traveled this state, people are aware of who he is, more so than David Crowley, almost anybody else who's in the race.

Pat Kreitlow

I am so glad you brought up the fact that the reporter here Reid Epstein has been covering Wisconsin politics for publications before the New York Times and in the New York Times for, you know, more than 20 years now.

So Reid Epstein's name is familiar in Wisconsin political circles and I'm frankly shocked that Mandela Barnes, you know, referred Reid Epstein to talk to somebody like you and you heard nothing.

You need he did not reach out to you for for a quote or reaction or anything like that And I'll let Reid Epstein speak for himself, but that that speaks volumes to me that he didn't reach out to you

Earl Ingram

Well, so as a matter of fact as late as Monday, I got a call from Mandela Barnes's Chief of Staff in this campaign asking if I had been contacted by this reporter

and she was surprised to find out that I had not been because she said he was going to contact me and I would have spoke up on behalf of Mandela Barnes.

He's got a better shot, his name recognition, he enters into the race and he'll be either leading in, you know, the leader and all the people who are in the race, just absolutely correct.

Pat Kreitlow

Yeah, let's let's be clear about something about 2022.

And I'm not in any way shape or form saying Mandela Barnes ran a perfect campaign.

He did not.

But let's make clear, he did not lose that race so much as Ron Johnson didn't lose

only because the decaying carcass of his campaign was dragged across the finish line by billionaires who spent big after getting huge tax breaks from Ron Johnson, running the most wildly racist ads that we've seen in Wisconsin history.

And that provided the closest, the closest US Senate race in Wisconsin history.

And so for people to just completely write off Mandela Barnes because of the way that he was attacked in the waning days of a campaign to drag Ron Johnson over the finish line, who has never been above 50% approval in this state is rather telling.

Earl Ingram

Outlanders, outrageous.

And that's not going to deter Mandela Barnes from getting in the race, I guarantee you.

Pat Kreitlow

Yeah, Earl Ingram joining us and you can follow his podcast at civicmedia.us for the what's going on with Earl Ingram show, the podcast that's there.

Let's let's get to the No Kings rally that you told us last week you were going to be emceeing.

They were telling you that the turnout was going to be higher than back in June.

Boy, did it turn out to be true.

That was quite a turnout.

Earl Ingram

Well, you know, you know, Pat, in truth, they also say it that Antifa

was going to be there.

Can I

Pat Kreitlow

tell you, can I tell you just interrupt to say people that they want to say, oh, Antifa this, Antifa that.

I saw a great post yesterday saying if Antifa were real, I'd be getting text donation solicitations from them because every other Democratic and progressive group is sending you countless text messages, send us money.

I'm not getting those from Antifa.

So it ain't so much a real group, Earl.

Earl Ingram

Well, Hamas is going to be there.

And as I said to the crowd,

As I look around, you know they said Antifa Hamas and criminals were going to be here.

Well, guess what?

I didn't see any billionaires.

Okay.

If you want to talk about criminals and those types of things, what was there was your average everyday rank and file American?

I can tell you that I've been around long enough and I remember the Republicans.

What was the name of their group?

that was around and they were protesting about 20 years ago.

A

Pat Kreitlow

Republican group?

Earl Ingram

Yeah, they were organized at the Tea Party.

Pat Kreitlow

The Tea Party, of course the Tea Party.

Earl Ingram

And the Tea Party had the exact same makeup.

People from my generation and older who have clearly had enough

who were organized and who were fighting.

That's what was there.

Pat Kreitlow

It was just, again, this whole notion of this is going to be filled with terrorists and billionaires and, you know, seven, eight million Americans.

You can't possibly pay off that many people to do this.

It was extremely organic.

And so, again, I'm glad you could.

Play the role of emcee for that particular one.

I don't want to lose time for you to talk about the ongoing assault against the Voting Rights Act It is looking very much like the conservative justices on the court are looking to kill what's left of the Voting Rights Act Which would only be just the latest assault on civil rights in this country Earl

Earl Ingram

So 1965 the Voting Rights Act was passed and it was passed.

It was a piece of federal legislation

that the United States created to combat racial discrimination.

And I can tell you that it is the third prong pat of the destruction of rights that were put in place to combat the racism and discrimination that this nation had at its source.

And so in my community, we are outraged that these kinds of conversations are going on and not only not only going on, but not being talked about enough.

And I keep hearing people say, well, we're better than that.

That's not the kind of nation we are.

I don't know about that because to watch what is transpiring and the rollback of the rights that that people fought, bled and died for.

And to say that we are a nation of laws, to say that, you know, everybody's welcome in this nation.

Well, listen, I'm born and raised in this nation, and many like me.

And to look at what is transpiring and for there not to be enough noise being made about it, I've lost a lot of respect that I had for this nation.

And I don't know if I'll ever in my lifetime ever get it back.

Pat Kreitlow

Well, it's completely understandable because of like you said, it's a three pronged attack.

First, it was affirmative action.

And then it was this, you know, DEI, you know, assault that was going on.

And having found success in both those areas, they're just going for, you know, for the brass ring right now, which is tearing down civil rights legislation that

you know tried to undo generations of institutional racism in this country and the code words and the winks that are going on about this debate are just nauseating Earl.

Earl Ingram

Well it's more than that for my community because what we see is you know my generation is reaching the end of our life cycle and so we saw the changes that my mother and father had to deal with

And so my generation benefited from those laws because we were able to live a middle class lifestyle predicated on those laws that were passed.

But our grandchildren and great grandchildren face an uncertain future with these decisions that are being made.

Can't hurt me and my generation because we're coming to an end.

But for those future generations, this is unacceptable.

And as I say to people in my community,

can't be allowed without a fight, but we need American citizens to talk about and do

Pat Kreitlow

what's right.

Kathryn Lake

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Pat Kreitlow

Let's get this week's climate check with Melissa Baldoff.

This time with one of the usual disclaimers in the Trump presidency is we're going to be sharing some headlines related to the climate that are not necessarily going to make you happy, might actually make you enraged.

And you go, why are you sharing this with us?

Well, first A, so you know exactly what this administration is doing.

But B, as a reminder, these are

real problems that are out there, that if they're not being addressed by this White House, then you have to look for other ways to address them.

And we've talked about that either at the state or the local level or, you know, industries, you know, talking amongst themselves and reaching standards and things, you'll see what I mean coming up.

But I'm just cautioning you ahead that there's, there seems to be extra headlines this week about ways that

this administration is basically giving the planet a big middle finger.

But before we get to that, there is still some good climate news out there, especially at the Wisconsin level.

And so Melissa's here now to talk about Forward Together Wisconsin and the work that they're doing for folks that want to make a difference in their homes and schools and businesses.

Melissa, how are you?

I'm doing all right.

Thanks.

Pat Kreitlow

All right.

So let's talk about that.

What it is that's still available and the progress that still can be made at the state level.

Yeah, so this is something that for Together Wisconsin is really excited about.

This is the second time the organization has held this event.

It is a convening that will take place next month on November 6th in Milwaukee.

And it is an opportunity for folks from all over the state to come together and, you know, talk about successes, talk about opportunities.

And, you know, this year, given

you know, what we saw from the federal government, from the Trump administration.

It's really an opportunity to talk about how the work continues without the support of the federal governments, you know, because it can feel very heavy and, you know, discouraging that, you know, you see the headlines like the ones we're going to get into about the money that's been cut, you know, in the disinvestment

which is awful, and we want to make sure we're holding people accountable for those votes that they took, for those decisions they made.

But it's important for people to remember that work in the renewable energy space and growing the clean energy economy, that was happening before the IRA, and it's going to continue after.

And so this convening is an opportunity for people to come together, talk about how that work continues.

and talk about how collectively we are holding people accountable for their bad decisions and how we're supporting folks at the state level who want to advance things here in Wisconsin because we do have a governor who's a climate champion and we have some opportunities here in the state as well.

So it's just a great opportunity for people to come together, have those conversations, learn a lot.

One of the things we're really excited about this year

is a panel devoted entirely to flooding and resilience and what happened here in southeast Wisconsin, how people can recover and what resources are available to mitigate this in the future and help folks who have been impacted recover.

So if anyone's interested in attending this event, it's no cost for attendees because we had some really generous sponsors and they can go to forwardtogetherwi.org.

and learn more.

Pat Kreitlow

Again forward together wi.org to learn more forward together Wisconsin by the way that's the the group that is you know one of the folks helping run things former lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes so perhaps Reed Epstein from the New York Times might want to attend this November 6th the gathering and

Learn a bit more about the leadership that's being shown in this area just just my own two two cents on on that particular topic Let's turn to you know, what else is happening in climate news?

And again, it's almost like if you to ask Chad GPT, you know, prior to Donald Trump coming on the scene, write a series of dystopian headlines about a president hostile to the climate, you would get things like this.

The government is shut down, but not for the people who issue permits for oil, gas and mining operations.

You've got Trump administration pressures countries to delay fees.

to clean up ship pollution.

You've got the Trump tariff fight with China means trouble for a vast wilderness in Brazil as farmers lobby to roll back deforestation restrictions so that they can grow and sell more soybeans to China.

How FEMA is forcing disaster struck towns to fend for themselves.

Trump has said he wants to shift the burden of disaster relief onto the states because

That's something that's that's feasibly possible and on and on and on it goes Did did any one of these or something else really you know sticking your craw this week as you looked at all the new headlines?

Mm-hmm.

Um, definitely knowing that um, you know, it's already tough that we know that the administration is prioritizing the fossil fuel industry

But knowing that those folks are still working, still getting paid, I'm sure.

And we've got other federal workers not getting paid.

And we've got a situation where we're going to run out of food share benefits in Wisconsin in nine days because the government has shut down.

So that one really, really got me.

And then also knowing that they want to.

course, if that FEMA is going to just say, hey, everybody's on their own.

I think about just being from Florida and the devastating impact of hurricanes that are happening frequently and really impacting the southeastern part of the country the most.

And a lot of states that have voted for

for Donald Trump and in red states that maybe don't have a state income tax and are not as well resourced as other states.

Those are going to be hit the hardest and are going to have the least ability to recover.

As much as it's difficult in a place like Wisconsin when we're recovering from flooding or tornadoes, we do have a governor here.

Fortunately, that is going to prioritize the safety and well-being and recovery of our residents and in other states.

That's just, you know, there's no guarantee of that for those folks.

Pat Kreitlow

There you go.

Melissa Baldoff with our climate check this week.

Melissa, thank you very much.

Appreciate it.

Talk to you next week.

All right.

Bye.

All right.

One more headline.

A coal processing plant near Pittsburgh shut down.

Emergency room visits dropped sharply because there were fewer respiratory issues.

and somebody wants to bring all that back.

Dr. Kristen Lyrely next year up north.

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All right, today, we're going to spend a little time talking to Dr. Kristen Lierly about

doctorly things.

As an OBGYN, we get into a lot of reproductive health rights and politics and things like that.

We haven't really talked women's health for some time.

But Halle Berry is making sure that we do that because the actor and menopause advocate spoke with some Wisconsin legislators yesterday about a bill that would increase the ability for women to receive

fact-based information about menopause, something that Dr. Lierly deals with with her patient base on a regular basis.

How's Kristen this morning?

Kristin Lyerly

Let's be honest I begged you to put me on the show this morning because I want to talk about menopause It's something we do not talk about and it affects everybody once you hit midlife if you are lucky enough to get that far You will go through menopause and it is not just hot flashes in your period stops It's all this weird stuff and that's the beauty of Halle Berry because as she tells her story It's this was happening to me and I didn't I couldn't get answers and I went to my doctor who I trusted and I knew and I know is smart and I didn't get the

right answer.

And it's because our entire system is set up not to teach people about what menopause is, how you might experience it, and what the implications are for the rest of your life.

Pat Kreitlow

And I'm going to tell this story real quick.

And then we're going to we're going to play some some of the Halle Berry audio from yesterday.

But I have said, and this helps being married to an OBGYN, that I will never hesitate to do a segment on menopause.

Because when I worked at the TV station,

We tried to get a female doctor to talk about menopause and couldn't find one.

My own spouse was camera shy and we finally got a guy to talk about it and all he could focus on was bedroom stuff and every question he kept bringing it back to bedroom stuff and not Anything else that's happening with women and I mean it was it went so off the rails that we've always

you know, had it in us go, okay, we need to do right by this topic.

And so that leads us up to Halle Berry, talking about she gave a lot of detail, more detail than we're going

Kristin Lyerly

to

Pat Kreitlow

plan.

Three different health concerns that she had.

And in the first couple, she wasn't getting great information, in part because even though it turned out they were linked to menopause,

these doctors didn't know about it.

Then after the third doctor, she finally got some more clarity about menopause by her own admission.

She never really considered menopause, never thought about it, never learned about it, and is now a staunch advocate to make sure doctors are fully up to speed as well as patients.

And so here's a little over two minutes of what Halle Berry had to say about the importance of menopause education and resources.

He looked at me and he said,

I kind of know what it is, but I can't really say it.

I said, what do you mean you can't really say it?

He said, I can't really say it to you, but I'm going to give you some eye drops that I want you to start using.

I said, wait, wait, but what is wrong with my eyes, Doc?

And he said, okay, I'm going to say it, but you're going to kill me.

But I think it's because of menopause.

And I said, exactly.

You ding, ding, ding, you know, winner, winner, chicken dinner is menopause.

But the thing was,

He didn't want to say it to me.

And I said, Doc, why couldn't you just say that to me?

You're my health care provider.

You're my doctor.

And he said, because my patients don't want to hear they're in menopause, it scares them.

They think they're getting old.

They will punch me.

They'll leave me.

I'm worried about that.

I don't want to lose my patients.

But women don't want to be told they're in menopause.

Well, why is that?

Why are we so afraid of menopause?

Because we have zero education around it.

It's stigmatized.

We're afraid because we're ignorant to what is happening to our bodies.

That's why education is so important.

And that's why I'm here.

I have real life examples of how more education would have saved me almost four years of self-exploration and self-diagnoses.

I would love to have gotten this information from my health care providers.

I would love for my daughter who's now 17 to sail in to her midlife.

Just like already she's excited about becoming a mom and going through pregnancy.

She has all the information she needs to know about that.

I want her to feel as excited about her midlife years as she does becoming a new mom.

Why?

Because I know these years over 40 are some of the

best years of a woman's life.

And we deserve to live in good health, to have good information so that we can make good, solid decisions for our own health.

And that is why I'm here.

And a few statistics I just want to add that 1.3 million women

transition into menopause each year.

By the year 2030, 1.2 billion billion women around the world will be in menopause.

And here's a big one.

I know it's far away for me.

It might be far away for you too.

But in 2060, 90 million women around the world will be navigating menopause.

And I think they need education and doctors need to be retooled to take care of them in the best way possible.

Pat Kreitlow

All right, so there's a little bit of Halle Berry talking yesterday about this bipartisan bill in the Wisconsin legislature that would basically have the Department of Health Services engage in partnerships with healthcare providers, physicians and others to basically create more resources, more fact-based information that the providers can share, that the state and county health departments can share.

All in all, to say, Kristen, that more fact-based educational materials can never be a bad thing.

Kristin Lyerly

This is why it's a problem.

When I was in training back in the early 2000s, it was soon after a huge study came out that made us all afraid to use hormone therapy, to prescribe hormone therapy.

It was called the Women's Health Initiative Study.

It was a great study, but the way that it was put together, the way that the results were interpreted really created a panic, and we are still living with the results of that panic.

As a result of that, doctors haven't been trained on how to take care of people going through menopause.

So I got 30 minutes of menopause in my medical school training.

I got a full hour of manopause, about 30 minutes of menopause.

So we don't know how.

We haven't been trained to do this.

So if you are somebody who is seeking care and you are not getting a satisfying answer from your doctor, it's because our training system has been flawed.

This is not just a Band-Aid.

This helps to fix it on the end where

patients are seeking the care that they need.

It helps to train doctors who are already out in practice and give them that additional information.

It is so incredibly important, not just for your sex life or to treat your hot flashes, but to treat your cardiovascular health.

You know, after you go through menopause, your risk of having a heart condition of dying from a heart attack actually goes up significantly, but we can mediate that risk if we do it well.

And that is what this bill is.

intended to do.

Pat Kreitlow

Well, I'm glad you mentioned that part, because my follow up question was going to be, again, to take the, I guess, the extreme view of why would we bother something we all go through?

Why don't you just, you know, rub some dirt on it and everything will be fine.

But there is research that can be done.

There can be more to recognize symptoms, but also to treat symptoms.

This is not just something Oh, it's just a phase that you go through.

It is a medical condition.

Kristin Lyerly

so many people have just suffered unnecessarily and you know that's an option like you can just stick it out if you want to but there are options for you and it's not just hormones but the long-term real thing to think about is

What are your risks as you are marching forward in life?

How are you aging?

You need to look at your family history.

You need to look at your own personal history.

What's going on with your cholesterol, your blood pressure, all of that stuff factors into your risk profile.

And without understanding what your personal risk profile is, you can't take the best possible care of yourself.

And menopause is a huge contributor to heart disease in women after we go through menopause.

We don't talk about that.

there, but now we're going to start having that conversation.

Pat Kreitlow

Now, this is just not the state bill that Halle Berry was speaking up in favor of last year.

She did an appearance with Senator Tammy Baldwin about a congressional bill.

That one would have called for more federal funding for research, you know, for treatments, for a host of other things that in the areas of resources and research.

So, I mean, there is

ample work that can be done at the federal level as well as the state level to help, like they said, the millions of women who will be going through this transition.

Kristin Lyerly

Very true and we know that we are kind of at a research stand still right now in this country So it's it's really hard to get research dollars to do any sort of meaningful research But historically so much of the research that we've done has been on men not on women

Earl Ingram

So

Kristin Lyerly

so many of the results that we have on fundamental things like heartburn and heart disease and the medications that we use are

only really applicable to men.

And so we need more data, more information on women, not just about menopause, but about everything.

Pat Kreitlow

Yeah, she talked about that leading up to that soundbite that we played that of the three health problems that she outlined.

One of them, you know, a doc thought it was maybe some kind of an autoimmune disorder, but they couldn't really tell because almost all of the studies on this autoimmune disorder had been done on men.

And so it was it was hard to say now a couple of the folks who also spoke legislators including Senate Democratic leader Diane Hasselbein and State Representative Robin Binding, you know, they also shared that they have had some, you know, personal experiences dealing with menopause and with, you know, education and resources to basically make the point as Senator Hasselbein said, you know,

Dr. Google can only take you so far when you go to your doctor or your provider, you want to know that they're the ones that are going to have all the latest information at their fingertips.

Kristin Lyerly

And there's a lot of information out there that maybe isn't so great because what happened after the women's health initiative, when we stopped talking about it as doctors and as patients seeking care, it opened up this whole alternative universe.

And there is value there, but a lot of that information is not validated.

A lot of the supplements are not well studied.

And frankly, supplements are not FDA regulated.

So you don't really know what's in the supplements that you're taking.

So

If you are seeking care for your menopausal symptoms in one of those alternative spaces, it's really important to know who your providers are, what kind of care that is, and what kind of evidence and data backs that up.

If you are not getting comprehensive care, that preventive care that I talked about earlier to ward off heart disease and cancer and other things, you absolutely need to be plugged in with your regular doctor who can provide that kind of care and screening.

Pat Kreitlow

Where does it stand in terms of, you know, specialists?

In other words, if say you're seeing a general practitioner, an internist, family practice, and you have concerns and you want to go see either an OBGYN or some other specialty, is it still a matter that a lot of plans require a direct referral?

You can't just ring up somebody and say, I have questions.

Kristin Lyerly

That's a great question.

You know, I don't know.

My plan doesn't.

I can go see whoever I want.

I

Pat Kreitlow

don't know.

Kristin Lyerly

It's not like an HMO.

And I really want people to seek out those alternatives.

Don't feel like you're locked in.

If somebody says, no, I don't have the answer.

Don't feel like that's the end of your road.

Keep advocating for yourself.

And your doctor should be advocating for you as well.

Pat Kreitlow

Yeah.

So again, that's a Halle Berry talking about a state bill, but also federal bills that are out there to work on education and resources and, you know, because more research, more resources, more education, better informed doctors and patients.

Those are never bad things.

Dr. Kristen Lierly is with us and we will wrap things up with some final news and notes on a Wednesday morning here on these mornings with Pat Critewell powered by Up North News on the Civic Media Radio Network.

Kathryn Lake

You're listening to Civic Media.

Find the latest news, information, and archives of all your favorite shows on the Civic Media website, civicmedia.us.

Pat Kreitlow

You can catch the Dr. Kristen Lierley show every Saturday at noon all across the Civic Media radio network.

You can also subscribe and follow at Spotify and other podcast platforms.

And YouTube.

How do you do?

And YouTube.

Yeah, you know, other platforms.

Look, Pat didn't forget the promo this time.

And then of course, in between the shows, you're making all kinds of videos about things.

Well, we'll get into that as well.

But what are you talking about on this weekend's edition of the Dr. Crystal Lyley show?

Kristin Lyerly

Well, we were going to talk to Fran Hong, but we're going to put that off until next week, because with all of this menopause enthusiasm, we decided to highlight menopause.

There's a new clinic opening up in Wausau.

It's actually open now.

And it's

called pause medicine.

They focus on menopause.

They focus on sexual health and well-being.

It's run by a board certified OBGYN doc who actually is a breast cancer survivor.

Here we are in breast cancer awareness month.

So we talk about all of those things, what this means for women's health, some of the complexities of the actual treatment.

And it's a great conversation, especially if you enjoyed our previous segment about menopause.

Pat Kreitlow

Coming up this Saturday, replayed on Sunday, but again, get it as a pod.

Look forward on YouTube as well.

And again, you're doing videos in between on various subjects as they come up.

And I saw that you did one recently on what President Trump promised last year on the campaign trail about IVF versus what have we seen so far in the nine months of his administration?

Kristin Lyerly

Remember, he said he was the father of IVF.

The father of IVF, yes.

Yeah, he was gonna make it affordable and accessible for everybody.

So the plan finally came out and it is disappointing to say the least.

Essentially, there will be, according to the executive order, a discount on some of the medications, which is helpful for some people, but...

Otherwise, it's just a suggestion to insurance companies that they should provide this treatment.

There are no mandates.

There is no true follow through.

It really doesn't make it more accessible or less expensive for most families.

Pat Kreitlow

This is the concepts of a plan approach.

When he was asked, what's your health care plan?

Don't you have a plan?

I have concepts of a plan.

This is at best concepts of a plan about IVF.

Kristin Lyerly

He's trying to walk a really thin line because the anti-abortion people who supported him and helped him get elected are not for IVF.

When you do IVF, you create multiple embryos and that creates an ethical dilemma for them, for him.

So out of one side of his mouth, he's saying one thing, out of the other side, he's saying another thing.

We've all gotten used to that.

But the bottom line is if you are

seeking fertility treatment and you need IVF and you were expecting Trump to come through for you.

He has not.

Pat Kreitlow

No, no, you you feel like, you know, a soybean farmer or a beef rancher right now in the United States.

Yeah, you're you're in good company.

All kinds of folks that are in there.

Now, there are candidates who are running for office that, again, still have challenging views on women's health care rights and

I am going to be talking to Lucy Rip from a Better Wisconsin Together about this, about candidates and their stances on women's health.

And we cover everything from Congressman Tom Tiffany, who is running for governor, to appeals court judge Maria Lazar, who is running for Wisconsin Supreme Court, to Eric Tony, the Fond du Lac County District Attorney, who is now going to be running again for Attorney General against Josh Call.

And, you know, Lucy...

points out in those three and in others, voters are going to either have a clear choice when it comes to women's health care rights or they're going to have to cut through some fog.

We've talked about Tom Tiffany trying to have things both ways when it comes to this topic.

Kristin Lyerly

Well, that is what we're seeing with the GOP right now.

They know that when it comes to abortion rights, that Americans want access to abortion.

We've seen it over and over again in some of the reddest states in this country when abortion is on the ballot, abortion wins because abortion is healthcare.

So now what they're trying to do is sneak it in in the back door.

in all these little tricky ways by having the FDA take another look at medication abortion access by this whole IVF thing, by not fully embracing it.

They are trying to find all these ways to prevent people from getting

full, comprehensive reproductive health care.

I'm committed to providing it.

My colleagues are committed to providing it, not just in the office, but making sure that our patients can get it universally.

So it's going to come down to abortion again, and we are not standing down.

Pat Kreitlow

No, I mean, women have made that clear and their allies have made this clear in vote after vote after vote.

And that's why the only reason they can sneak things through like this current backdoor ban, you know, from the big bloated bill with Boondoggle or with Planned Parenthood, you know, holding off on abortion care in Wisconsin is again, through the backdoor.

When things are put up and you let the people choose and they vote their values, they vote for women.

Kristin Lyerly

They vote for women.

They vote for health care.

People want to make their own health care decisions.

Whether we're talking about preventive care, reproductive care, it doesn't matter.

When you go to the doctor, you want to be able to tell your story, hear about all of your options, and make the decision that is best for you, not the decision that a politician says you can have.

Pat Kreitlow

Now, we'll close with the very convenient scheduling of Dr. Lierly going to Pittsburgh for conferences.

just as the Packers are going to be playing the Pittsburgh Steelers and Aaron Rodgers.

And of course, Kristen living in Green Bay probably was coffee buddies with Aaron Rodgers and just couldn't tell us you got to keep these things hush.

Any chance you're recording an interview with him for for an upcoming show or anything like that?

Kristin Lyerly

He's my birthday buddy.

Actually, we have

Pat Kreitlow

that's right.

Yes.

Kristin Lyerly

Yeah, we split ways though over COVID.

I was a little frustrated with him when he when he was deceitful.

Leaders don't do that.

You know, you don't put your

your your colleagues in danger.

So yeah, I lost a lot of respect for I'm there.

Pat Kreitlow

Well, it'll make it easier to root against them when you are you.

Have you found a way to actually go to the game?

Kristin Lyerly

Oh, yeah, I got my tickets.

Pat Kreitlow

Oh, of course you do.

Of

Kristin Lyerly

course.

The question is, Pat, how am I going to pack my cheese head and my carry on?

Pat Kreitlow

Oh, a lot of

Kristin Lyerly

room.

Pat Kreitlow

Yes, well, that could be your personal item.

You just wear it on board the plane, and you hope the person in the seat behind you is all right with that and can still see the video on how to buckle a seat belt.

I always love that.

Here's how to buckle a seat belt.

Thanks, guys.

Could I have more than a bag of rentals, please?

Anyway, safe travels out there.

We will talk to you Friday and again Monday.

Monday from Pittsburgh, maybe.

Sounds like fun.

Oh,

Kristin Lyerly

it's from Pittsburgh.

Pat Kreitlow

All right.

That's great.

Thank you.

Talk to you later.

Bye-bye.

All right, Matt Nara Nara, it's coming up next.

Thanks to all of you for being with us today.

I'm Pat Critello from Up North News.

We'll see you bright and early back here up north 6 a.m.

Have a great

Kathryn Lake

day.

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