A collective of scientists and health organizations filed a lawsuit against the National Institutes of Health (NIH) on Wednesday, alleging that the recent elimination of research funding based on ideological grounds is unlawful and jeopardizes the progress of medical advancements.
Since the inauguration of President Donald Trump in January, a considerable number of NIH research grants have been revoked without warning. This impacts studies that deal with subjects such as diversity, gender, and vaccine hesitancy, among other politically sensitive issues.
Consequently, the termination of these grants has affected research focusing on HIV prevention, violence prevention among children, pregnancy-related health disparities, and Alzheimer’s disease, as stated in the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts.
The lawsuit’s objective is to reinstate the funding and halt the discontinuation of these studies. It contends that the withdrawals undermine NIH’s standard science-oriented review procedures and defy congressional mandates to address health equity issues, alongside conflicting with federal regulations.
Furthermore, the lawsuit argues that terminating these projects prematurely squanders taxpayer funds by halting them before any findings can be conclusively reached.
The case has been brought forth by the American Public Health Association, various unions representing scientists, and individual researchers who have lost their grant funding.
The Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees NIH, has chosen not to comment on the ongoing litigation.