The National Science Foundation, or NSF, was formerly known for its assistance in funding research projects across the United States. Now, however, the name can be found plastered across news headlines and posters in protest. In response to an executive order, the NSF froze both its current grant funding and its review of applications. Although their operations have been unfrozen, restrictions and limitations have been placed on the eligibility of funding based on the content of the research.
In the Trump administration’s derogatory attempt to end DEI efforts (diversity, equity, inclusion), they advised federal agencies’ against the use of many crucial words and phrases. In response, many of these agencies have released, whether intentionally or by internal leaks, their lists of what can be deemed “forbidden words.” The NSF’s list totals more than 60 words and phrases, of which are “black,” “disabilities,” “female,” “gender,” “LGBTQ,” “systemic,” and “women.” Not only does the banning of such words demean large demographics of the American population, but it also makes it much more difficult for researchers to receive any sort of funding for inquiries involving issues faced by these individuals. It has been proven time and time again, by federally funded medical research, that certain demographics may be more susceptible to specific complications. As a result of both the executive order and the NSF’s compliance to such, this research is being completely disregarded. This puts all Americans, regardless of race, gender, or sexuality, at major risk.
Since the early February executive order, many FDA (Food and Drug Administration) and NCI (National Cancer Institute) researchers have either completely lost funding, or completely lost their jobs. Chemical & Engineering News covered a Washington D.C. protest against the cuts of research and jobs within the medical field. Among those protesting, they found former FDA workers, cancer researchers, NIH (National Institute of Health) contractors, medically focused PhD candidates and biochemists. The outcry and protest of America’s medical scholars, doctors, and researchers speaks volumes as to how detrimental these restrictions are. Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) spoke at one of the many ongoing protests, saying, “There’s no sugarcoating this. These cuts will kill more Americans.”
As if matters were not already bad enough, an executive order titled, “Establishing the President’s Make America Healthy Again Commission” was issued on Feb. 13. Here, the presidential administration outlines their knowledge of America’s lagging life expectancy to that of other developed countries. This ironically contrasts with the actions of the administration as they continue to pursue efforts targeting scientific improvements, specifically within the medical field. Alongside what many would call hypocrisy, the order narrows in on specific conditions such as Autism, ADHD and many autoimmune diseases. It discusses the increase of such conditions within the nation’s population and the parallel increase in medication prescriptions for such individuals. Then, in a single sentence that is only rational when taken out of context, the order claims, “This poses a dire threat to the American people and our way of life.” This statement seemingly displays concern for the American people, however, its supporting claim invalidates this entirely. This statement is insulting to all individuals with chronic health conditions, as their presence has been mistakenly listed as a threat to the American people. Directly following this, the order states the issue to be that, “seventy-seven percent of young adults do not qualify for the military based in large part on their health scores.” With no regard for the medically-diagnosed conditions, the presidential administration lists their concern to be eligibility for the military. They do not regard the increase in diagnoses as an improvement in diagnostics or a deterioration in the wellbeing of the public, but as a threat to the numbers of America’s armed forces. All of this, however, is just found in the published forethought to the actual executive order.
The ‘order’ element of the executive order, writes that, “the National Institutes of Health and other health-related research funded by the Federal Government should prioritize gold-standard research on the root causes of why Americans are getting sick.” This is once again ironic, because “gold-standard research” is, at its most basic, inclusive and representative of all who could potentially benefit from it. In just the few short months that the current administration has been in office, they have managed to leave what will be forever remembered as a negative impact on the future of medical research. Their claims to take interest in the health of the general public are only fueled by their need for a growing military, and their orders only restrict and demean research instead of encouraging it.
