In the US, an assault on science, global health and human rights: Part 2 - Reproductive justice, gender and DEIA under attack

THROUGH SEVERAL ACTIONS, THE TRUMP ADMINISTRATION has demanded aggressive censorship of language related to gender, diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility across government. This includes the purging of all references to these topics on government websites, grants, programs, and new proposals. The actions attempt to reverse several decades of deliberate efforts in the US to address racism and discrimination towards racial minorities in housing, employment, the military, commerce, education, and all aspects of life. DEIA efforts are based on settled science and rooted in overwhelming evidence that health and health outcomes are intimately linked to such social determinants as housing, race, gender, and sexual orientation. In response to these edicts, many private companies and universities such as Walmart, Google, and Northwestern University have abandoned their DEIA programs. Although the US has been recognised as a global leader in accessibility and the rights of people with disabilities, as codified in the Americans with Disabilities Act, the new administration’s actions threaten to undermine this leadership and return to an era of ignorance and intolerance towards physically challenged Americans. A case brought to the federal district court in Maryland on behalf of a coalition of college professors, diversity officers, and restaurant worker advocates argued that the DEI actions violated their right to due process and exceeded the authority of the president. The plaintiffs claimed that the actions were ‘“breeding fear and already forcing irreversible harm by chilling core political speech and academic freedom.” In February, Judge Adam B. Abelson granted a preliminary injunction that bars portions of the Trump orders to cancel federal contracts with DEI components and blocks enforcement against universities and publicly-traded companies with similar DEIA policies. .The actions attempt to reverse several decades of deliberate efforts in the US to address racism and discrimination towards racial minorities in housing, employment, the military, commerce, education, and all aspects of life..The rationale for the assault on gender diversity and aversion towards the term ‘gender’ could be found in Table III. It suggests that to recognise the existence of non-binary people is to attack women, and hence this order is needed to protect women. These positions misrepresent the known biology of gender that includes persons with mixed sex characteristics, Turner’s Syndrome, and other chromosomal anomalies that represent a genuine non-binary group of human beings. .They also invisibilise the history and reality of transgender individuals in all cultures that cannot be dismissed so simply through an executive order. Endocrinologists and geneticists recognize individuals with non-binary chromosomal composition as one type of non-binary persons with a biologic and genetic basis. In taking this action, the Trump administration is promoting anti-science and medical malpractice in the area of the care of transgender individuals and the provision of gender-affirming care. There has been a wave of anti-transgender sentiment in the US in recent years. Since 2023, 350 bills have been introduced in state legislators limiting the freedoms of transgender individuals to attend schools and to serve in the military. The new administrative actions further discriminate against this group of people and go much further, denying them even the right to exist. Several state laws include punishment for doctors and other health workers who provide gender-supportive care, and for family members who try to help them. The assault on reproductive justice by the new Trump administration has taken many forms. The new administration reinstated the ‘Mexico City rule’ that prevents federal funding for any organisation that participates in family planning and abortion services, whether or not the funds pay for that service. This rule widely inhibited family planning in global settings that were funded by USAID and PEPFAR until its removal. Project 2025 also calls for a national abortion ban and a revocation of the approval of the abortion pill by FDA. Importantly, a recent lawsuit in Texas was filed against a physician in New York state for providing the abortion pills mifepristone and misoprostil to a young woman in Texas, and the case was blocked by a judge in Massachusetts. .In the US, an assault on science, global health and human rights: Part 1 - The challenges confronting government-led science and health.On February 1, 2025, the new administration ordered the removal of protections for LGBTQ+ students, increasing the likelihood of bullying and anti-LGBTQ+ violence. These actions against the LGBTQ+ community reverse the growing tolerance towards same-sex marriage and the gay community in the United States. The assault on LGBTQ+ and transgender individuals was an astonishing element in the first month. It targets a universally recognised vulnerable population (while ten percent of American adults identify as LGBTQ+, about 1 to 2 percent of the population identify as transgender or non-binary). .These actions against the LGBTQ+ community reverse the growing tolerance towards same-sex marriage and the gay community in the United States. .The unequivocal response to these actions from the scientific community is a firm “NO.” President Trump will not succeed in dictating or changing the language of science, as “gender” is an important term in the scientific literature. Nor will President Trump succeed in denying the existence of transgender and non-binary individuals, as this is an action outside of any President’s authority. In an email to potential faculty for an HIV conference in the US that is not dependent on federal funding, the conference chairman wrote, “We affirm our commitment to DEI, transgender health, and scientific inquiry, free from political or commercial influence. Please do not self-censor on these topics – our conference is independent of federal oversight, and our discussions must reflect the science and epidemiology of HIV, including marginalized communities.” .Note: The previous part, which explored the challenges confronting government led science and health can be found here. The third part of this series will delve into the systematic assault on USAID and PEPFAR, and explore the implications of the attack on immigration and citizenship rights in the US.