News Briefs: The Trump Administration’s Federal Health Research Agenda Threatens Basic Prevention, Treatment, and Cures For Diseases That Affect Women And Reproductive Health
By Jill Rosenthal and Kierra B. Jones
(AmericanProgress.Org)
The Trump administration’s cuts to research on Alzheimer’s, menopause, uterine fibroids, and pregnancy risk will all have significant impacts on the reproductive health of women. As an example, the administration canceled funding for a researcher at Columbia University who studied the bio-mechanics of uterine fibroids. Fibroids affect up to 77 percent of aging women and can cause severe pain, bleeding, and infertility. HHS staff have also been directed to disapprove grants that include specific words, including “women,” which will stall understanding of, and treatment for, diseases and conditions that affect women more or differently than they affect men. These cuts, pursued under the guise of efficiency, would produce the opposite: According to one estimate, an investment of $350 million in research focused on women could generate $14 billion for the economy by increasing longevity, reducing disease, and lessening work disruptions.
Other research grants are being canceled if they provide payments to foreign scientific collaborators. This includes ongoing collaborative research between Emory University and partners in Denmark to identify women who are at higher 317,000 U.S. women at risk of life-threatening breast cancer recurrence. This research would have enabled doctors to treat women in advance of recurrence, preserving their health, but the collaboration is unlikely to continue. Close to 317,000 U.S. women are diagnosed with invasive breast cancer every year, with more than 42,000 cases resulting in death.
The Trump administration’s research agenda also sidelines input from women and people of color, which raises concerns of future failure to invest in studies of diseases that disproportionately or differently affect them. Women were disproportionately fired from Boards of Scientific Counselors, which are responsible for rating the quality of scientific research across the National Institutes of Health. Only 6 percent of white men serving on the boards were fired, compared with about 25 percent of all women. Close to 40 percent of the board’s Black and Latino members were fired. Research shows that more balanced representation leads to more robust solutions in science.
The Trump administration is making homes, neighborhoods, and the environment less health and safe for pregnant women.
The administration’s attacks on environmental and public health protections will have a disproportionate impact on reproductive and maternal health. The administration has dismantled regulations to reduce pollution and canceled nearly 800 grants intended to help communities improve air and water quality. In both instances, pregnant women will bear a significant burden. In addition to the gender adverse health impacts of environmental pollution, such as heart disease, respiratory disease, and mental health conditions, air pollution is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, including stillbirth, reduced fetal growth, increased risk for preterm birth, and preeclampsia. Climate change-induced extreme heat, for example, which becomes more dangerous every year, increases pregnant women’s risk of severe illness and hospitalization, life-threatening pregnancy complications, and maternal death.
Other recent cuts to federal grants are threatening efforts to improve neighborhood conditions nationwide. A June 2025 Center for American Progress analysis shows that the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has cut at least $3 billion from research, education, and other programs that would improve women’s health, safety, and workforce participation. The Hmong American Women’s Association, which advocates on behalf of domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, is one example of an organization that relies on federal grants for more than half of its funding. Cuts have required its already small staff to be reduced by more than half.
Programs to promote maternal and child health at home are also at risk. Trump’s proposed FY 2026 budget would cut $1.73 billion from the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), which has already laid off up to 600 workers in DOGE layoffs. The HRSA Maternal and Child Health Bureau funds family planning and maternal and child care programs such as the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program, which supports families in promoting healthy child-rearing, prevents child neglect, and helps parents find stable employment or continue their education.
https://www.midwivesontrial.com