It’s because of delayed detection like this that the U.S. has one of the lowest cervical cancer survival rates in the developed world. It’s also why Richardson is speaking up. “I had to think about doing this interview, but if one person doesn’t get cancer because I talked to you, it’s worth it,” she explained.

No one should die of cervical cancer in 2017, for it’s highly preventable. Yet because of a lack of resources and political will, one woman still dies every two hours of cervical cancer in America, and worldwide, it will kill two or three women in the time it takes you to read this column.

At home, Trump is undermining the fight against cervical cancer by seeking to defund Planned Parenthood, which performs some 270,000 cervical cancer screenings annually.

A second way Trump is hobbling the battle against cervical cancer is his “global gag rule,” halting funding abroad for organizations linked in some way to abortion, including counseling about abortion. A third is his cutoff of funds for the United Nations Population Fund, which is a major international player in reducing deaths from cervical cancer.