According to Nature, several National Institute of Health (NIH) employees who wish to remain anonymous confirmed that the White House is instructing the biomedical agency to study the negative effects of gender transitioning. This directive was issued after nearly every research project on transgender health was defunded by the NIH.

Since Donald Trump was sworn in on January 20th, he has been on a crusade to cut “unnecessary spending within government agencies” and heavily limit the rights and public presence of trans people in society. 

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The NIH, the world’s largest financial contributor to biomedical research, was not spared from the ire of the Trump administration. According to this data sheet by the HHS, more than 270 NIH grants totaling $125 million were canceled. The number is believed to be far greater, with Nature reporting that more than $180 million in grants for research on transgender health were upended.

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During this time, Matthew Memoli was the interim director of the NIH after being appointed by Trump, while Trump’s nominated choice, Jay Bhattacharya, awaited confirmation from the Senate. During Memoli’s last two weeks, he sent emails to the directors of various NIH institutes informing them that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) was directed to fund research on studies relating to transgender people who regret transitioning to align their bodies with their gender identity and what it calls “chemical and surgical mutilation” of children and adults.

Though no studies have been published as of this moment, many people reacting to the news on social media are comparing this to the Cass Review, a report on gender-affirming care for transgender youth released by the National Health Service in England. The Cass Review was heavily criticized for misrepresenting data to promote transphobic bias and is scoffed at by academic researchers and institutions globally.

Gillian Branstetter of the ACLU wrote in a post on Bluesky, “This is functionally what the Cass Review was in the UK and lots of people in prestige media swallowed it whole while accusing trans people ourselves of ‘politicizing science’ by pointing that out,” in reference to the NIH directive.

The legitimacy of the NIH’s findings will no doubt face similar criticism due to the Trump administration’s bias against funding medical research into trans lives.

Numerous studies have already been published that show that trans people are unlikely to regret medically transitioning. One study found that top surgery patients report 100% satisfaction with their surgery, according to the University of Michigan. Another study published in JAMA Pediatrics indicated that only 3% regret transitioning, which is far lower than for other medical treatments.

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