The FDA Just Held a Panel on HRT. Here’s What Most People Missed.

The FDA brought together experts this week to re-evaluate hormone therapy and a lot of what they said felt like progress.

• They named the harm done by 20 years of fear

• They emphasized safety for many women, especially in their 40s and 50s

• They pushed for better access and better medical training

But here’s what’s getting missed in the headlines:

• Most of the speakers were HRT advocates, not skeptics, and when everyone agrees too quickly, we lose the friction that good science needs. Consensus without challenge isn’t science. It’s storytelling.

• They spotlighted one small group in the WHI study (women aged 50–59) as evidence of safety. But that subgroup was not pre-specified. It was a post-hoc subgroup, not a dedicated trial.

• And there’s still no large randomized controlled trials (RCTs) on modern formulations like transdermal estrogen or micronized progesterone.

• Breast cancer risk? Glossed over.

• Cardiovascular nuance? Oversimplified

This doesn’t mean hormone therapy is dangerous. And it’s right to correct the fear. But it means the data is still evolving and so should the conversation.

We deserve clarity, not just confidence.

I write about the future of women’s health.