American Public Health Association v. National Institutes of Health

For nearly 100 years, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) has worked to improve public health by directing most of its budget to thousands of researchers at universities, medical schools, and other institutions in all 50 states. Guided by congressional mandates, regulatory requirements, and scientific expertise when determining what research to fund, NIH’s operations were upended by an abrupt and unlawful policy change beginning in February 2025 that led to the immediate termination of hundreds of grants already awarded to researchers, as well as the denial and unreasonable delay of grant applications submitted by researchers. The government justified its actions by asserting the work is “unscientific” because it is based on “gender identity” or “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” (“DEI”), which it declares “unscientific.” The government has also canceled research related to “vaccine hesitancy,” and “COVID” among other disfavored topics.

Background

Protect Democracy, along with the ACLU, ACLU of Massachusetts, Emery Celli Brinckerhoff Abady Ward & Maazel, and the Center for Science in the Public Interest filed a lawsuit on their behalf against NIH and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to stop the ideological purge of this life-saving research — research that includes LGBTQIA+ individuals, women, and people of color; that seeks to understand the reasons for disparities in health outcomes; and the causes of vaccine hesitancy. By terminating these grants and denying, and delaying these applications, the Trump Administration isn’t merely breaking the law, it is corrupting knowledge and access to healthcare for marginalized communities and ultimately damaging scientific inquiry in institutions critical to our democracy. It is also surrendering the American public to infectious diseases, delivering a devastating blow to our nation’s world-leading scientific research establishment, throwing away the taxpayer-funded investment in projects that have been shuttered midway, and casting countless communities across the country into economic uncertainty.

This ideological purge is illegal because: 

This ideological purge violates the Administrative Procedure Act

In making its arbitrary and capricious decision to terminate grants and deny or delay applications for alleged DEI, transgender issues, or vaccine hesitancy, based on zero scientific input, and apparently in order to effectuate executive orders ruled illegal, the NIH did not even try to explain why a change in medical research priorities was necessary.

The administration recklessly purged these grants not for any scientific reason, or to make government research more efficient, or to save more lives. The decision was made in animus, because, in the administration’s view, those who might benefit from the research are persona non grata. Hate is not healthcare.

Plaintiffs

The plaintiffs are researchers, public health associations, unions, and a reproductive research organization whose research in the areas of Alzheimer’s, drug treatment, pain management, sexual violence, HIV, cancer therapies, and suicide intervention were improperly cancelled by NIH. They are:

• The American Public Health Association, which has 23,000 public health professional members
• IBIS Reproductive Health, which partners on research to advance sexual and reproductive autonomy
• International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers (UAW), which represents about 120,000 workers in higher education
• Dr. Brittany Charlton, associate professor at Harvard Medical School and Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and founding director of the LGBTQ Health Center of Excellence. She is a leading scholar of LGBTQ health inequities, particularly in cancer and reproductive health.
• Dr. Katie Edwards, professor at the University of Michigan School of Social Work. Dr. Edwards’ research focuses on preventing sexual and related forms of violence among minority communities, using evidence-based, affirming, and culturally-grounded approaches.
• Dr. Peter Lurie, an experienced research physician and the President and Executive Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, which advocates for improving public health through science-based policies and promoting scientific integrity. From 2014–17, he was an Associate Commissioner at the Food and Drug Administration, where he worked on the regulation of over-the-counter drugs, among other projects.
• Dr. Nicole Maphis, a postdoctoral fellow at the University of New Mexico’s School of Medicine. Her research explores how alcohol usage affects the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. She is the first and only person in her family to graduate college and comes from a low-income background.

Defendants

• National Institutes of Health
• Jay Bhattacharya, Director of the National Institutes of Health
• United States Department of Health and Human Services
• Robert F. Kennedy, Secretary of Health and Human Services

Case Documents

Featured Press

Trump’s NIH Axed Research Grants Even After a Judge Blocked the Cuts, Internal Records Show

May 7, 2025

For more than two months, the Trump administration has been subject to a federal court order stopping it from cutting funding related to gender identity and the provision of gender-affirming care in response to President Donald Trump’s executive orders.

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UCSF researchers lose grant money

April 28, 2025

Cuts made by DOGE are starting to hit higher education. Millions of dollars in grants are being pulled from places like San Jose State University, UC Berkeley and UC San Francisco.

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The Trump Administration Just Made Catastrophic Cuts That Will Affect You Or Someone You Know

April 27, 2025

I deeply regret not doing more as a researcher until now to share the goodness, humanity and impact of our work with the American public. I hope it’s not too late.

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‘I’m a scientist — here’s why I’m suing RFK Jr.

April 5, 2025

Let me set the record straight: I’m not promoting radical ideology, woke ideology, gender ideology or any kind of ideology at all. I’m a scientist. I work to keep people healthy.

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‘An attack on scientific progress itself’: Health researchers sue to overturn NIH funding cuts

April 2, 2025

A group of health researchers and labor unions, including a Harvard University professor, have filed a federal lawsuit challenging billions of dollars in funding cuts by the National Institutes of Health.

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Scientists Sue NIH, Saying Politics Cut Their Research Funding

April 2, 2025

A group of scientists and health groups sued the National Institutes of Health on Wednesday, arguing that an “ideological purge” of research funding is illegal and threatens medical cures.

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Harvard researcher among plaintiffs suing federal government over NIH terminations

April 2, 2025

Researchers and several national organizations are suing the Trump administration for its abrupt cancellation of grants from the National Institutes of Health. The complainants claim funding was quashed for research on “disfavored topics and populations.”

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