In a major victory for public health, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts struck down the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH) directives that led to the cancellation of research grants based on sweeping, politically driven criteria.
Judge William Young reversed the cancellation of hundreds of National Institutes of Health grants the agency had recently cut based on claims that they support certain topics, including “gender ideology” or diversity, equity and inclusion.
The court ruled that NIH’s actions targeting research involving disfavored topics and populations were unlawful, arbitrary and capricious, and therefore void.
The court reversed the grant terminations at issue in the case, stating that the government must immediately make the funds available.
In a stunning act of tyranny that began in February, the Trump administration started a reckless purge of federal NIH grants, halting application processes midstream, and stripping funding opportunities from its website.
Hundreds of research projects — many of which have been underway for years, representing thousands of hours of work and billions of dollars in investment — were abruptly canceled without a reasonable explanation.
On April 2, the American Civil Liberties Union, the ACLU of Massachusetts, Protect Democracy, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a lawsuit challenging the abrupt cancellations on behalf of individual researchers, along with the American Public Health Association (APHA); the International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace and Agricultural Implement Workers of America (UAW); and Ibis Reproductive Health. Also, joining as co-counsel is Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel LLP.
Leaders of the UAW reacted to the news by applauding Judge Young’s ruling.
The UAW, which was a plaintiff in one case, represents more than 120,000 academic workers at higher education institutions across the country, many of whose work and careers were directly impacted by the terminated grants.
“These politically motivated attacks jeopardized medical and scientific progress and threatened the jobs of researchers studying climate change, renewable energy, cancer, viral pandemics, heart disease, diabetes, and Alzheimer’s,” said Brandon Mancilla, Director of UAW Region 9A, which includes New York, Massachusetts and the Northeast.
“This decision is poised to restore hundreds of millions of dollars in previously allocated research funding, reanimating labs and workers focused on some of the most pressing health questions we face,” said Mancilla. “We are grateful that this work can now get back on track.”
“Judge Young was right to call these cuts exactly what they are: illegal and discriminatory,” said Mike Miller, Director of UAW Region 6, which covers California, Washington and much of the western U.S.
“The research UAW workers perform is essential to the development of technologies and treatments to enhance public health – and we are hopeful that that work is now able to proceed,” said Miller.
“Not only did these attempted cuts impede lifesaving care for millions of Americans, but delays in treatment are projected to cost the public billions of dollars,” said Tim Smith, Director of UAW Region 8, which includes the National Institutes of Health and much of the mid-Atlantic seaboard.