In recent months, the Trump administration has terminated thousands of federally funded medical research grants, gutting $9.5 billion in critical health science efforts. More than half of those cuts — 1,246 grants worth $5.5 billion — targeted studies focused on LGBTQ health. These cuts don’t just reflect shifting policy priorities. They also risk limiting the scientific insights that inform clinical care and support the health of all Americans.

Beginning in February, thousands of scientists received abrupt notices terminating funding for vital research involving LGBTQ populations. The justification?

Their research was deemed “based primarily on artificial and nonscientific categories, including amorphous equity objectives.” One letter even claimed that “research programs based on gender identity are often unscientific, have little identifiable return on investment, and do nothing to enhance the health of many Americans.”

The grants that were terminated underwent stringent peer review prior to funding and covered a wide range of important issues — from Alzheimer’s disease and breast cancer to caregiver well-being and school safety. In many cases, the common factor cited in their termination was simply the inclusion of LGBTQ populations within the research scope.

When groups of people are excluded from research, it sends a message about whose health is prioritized. The disproportionate elimination of LGBTQ-focused research is more than a........

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